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THE  FOLK-LOEE  SOCIETY. 

XXIX. 

[1891.] 


fynml  m&  ®ftm  oj  tU  S^Mm  ^oddg. 


G.  LAITEENCE  GOMMB,  F.S.A. 

ANDREW  LANG,  M.A. 

THE  BIGHT  HON.  SIK  JOHN  LUBBOCK,  M.P.,  D.C.L.,  LL.D.,  F.R.S.,  F.S.A. 

Lt.-Gen.  PITT-RIVERS,  D.C.L.,  F.R.S.,  F.S.A.,  ETC. 

PROFESSOR  J.  RHYS,  M.A. 

THE  REV.  PROFESSOR  A.  H.  SAYCE,  M.A. 

EDWARD  B.  TYLOB,  LL.D.,  F.R.S. 


€a\xntit 


THE  HON.  JOHN  ABERCROMBY. 

DR.  KARL  BLIND. 

EDWARD  BRABROOK,  F.S.A. 

MISS  C.  S.  BURNE. 

MISS  M.  ROALFE  COX. 

J.  P.  EMSLIE.    . 

J.  J.  FOSTER. 

J.  G.  FRAZER,  M.A. 

THE  REV.  DR.  M.  GASTER. 


PROF.  A.  C.  HADDON,  M.A. 
E.  SIDNEY  HARTLAND,  F.S.A. 
JOSEPH^JACOBS,  B.A. 
BRYNMOR  JONES,  LL.B.,  M.P. 
W.  P.  KIRBY. 
J.  T.  NAAKfe. 
ALFRED  NUTT. 
T.  FAIRMAN  ORDISH,  F.S.A. 
HENRY  B.  AVHBATLBY,  F.S.A. 


EDWARD  CLODD,  19,  Carleton  Road,  Tufnell  Park,  N. 
G.  L.  APPBRSON.  |  JOHN  TOLHURST,  F.S.A. 

^ecretarg. 

F.  A.  MILNE,  M.A.,  11,  Old  Square,  Lincoln's  Inn,  London,  W.C. 


THE    DENHAM   TRACTS. 


THE    DENHAM    TEACTS. 


A  Collection  of  Folklore  by  Michael  Aislabie  Denham, 

AND 

REPRINTED  FROM  THE  ORIGINAL  TRACTS  AND  PAMPHLETS 
PRINTED  BY  MR.  DENHAM  BETWEEN  1846  AND  1859. 


EDITED    BY 


Dr.   JAMES   HARDY. 


VOL.   I. 


LONDON : 
PUBLISHED  FOR  THE   FOLKLORE   SOCIETY, 

BY  DAVID  NUTT,  270,  STEAND,  W.C. 
1892. 


"Ml 


WESTMINSTER  : 

PRINTED  BY  NICHOLS  AND  SONS, 

25,  PARLIAMENT  STREET. 


PKEFACE. 


The  title  of  this  volume  is  derived  from  the  author  of  the 
tracts  and  leaflets  which  are  reprinted — Michael  Aislabie 
Denham.  Mr.  Denham  was  a  local  tradesman  in  Pierse  Bridge, 
and  throughout  his  life  he  was  a  diligent  collector  of  the  then 
unconsidered  trifles  which  occupy  so  much  of  old  peasant 
thought  and  life.  He  collected  before  Folklore  as  a  subject  of 
study  and  inquiry  was  thought  of.  He  printed  his  collections 
in  local  newspapers,  stray  leaflets,  or  small  pamphlets,  and  until 
the  Percy  Society  requested  him  to  compile  a  volume  for  them 
hejiad  no  thought,  or  at  all  events  no  chance,  of  bringing  his 
collections  before  the  public  in  volume  form. 

At  the  Time  when  the  Folklore  Society  was  formed  in  1878 
Mr.  Thoms  brought  before  the  Council  the  subject  of  the 
Denham  Tracts.  He  had  a  few  of  them.  Some  were  deposited 
in  the  library  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries,  some  were  in  the 
British  Museum,  and  the  late  Mr.  Edward  Hailstone  had  a  very 
good  collection,  which  was  sold  with  his  otlier  books  after  his 
death.  But  not  one  of  these  several  collections  was  complete. 
By  carefully  collating  them,  however,  one  with  the  other,  it  was 
possible  to  get  together  as  complete  a  collection  as  by  the 
nature  of  things  could  be  expected.  Mr.  Thoms  urged  the  task 
upon  the  Council,  and  mainly  through  his  endeavours  the  work 
was  proceeded  with.  Mr.  Hailstone  lent  some  of  his  copies  to 
fill  up  the  lacuiise  in  the  British  Museum  collection  and  that  of 
the  Society  of  Antiquaries,  and   after  considerable  trouble  the 


VIU  PREFACE. 

whole  collection,  so  far  as  could  be  ascertained;  was  carefully 
transcribed  for  the  Society.  While  this  work  was  going  on  Mr. 
James  Hardy  joined  the  Society,  and  was  greatly  interested  in 
the  publication  of  the  Denham  Tracts.  Mr.  Denham  had  been 
a  correspondent  of  his,  and  he  possessed  many  of  the  tracts 
with  MS.  additions  by  Mr.  Denham  and  by  himself,  and  he 
placed  his  services  at  the  disposal  of  the  Society.  The  Council 
were  only  too  pleased  to  avail  themselves  of  this  opportunity, 
and  Mr.  Hardy  was  asked  to  edit  the  volume,  a  request  which 
was  kindly  acceded  to,  though  at  the  cost  of  much  time  stolen 
from  other  arduous  editorial  and  scientifif^-  duties  in  connection 
with  Berwickshire,  where  he  resides. 

This  reprint  of  the  tracts  will  occupy,  when  completed,  Jwp 
volumes.  The  material  has  been  so  divided  that  the  first  volume 
shall  consist  of  the  local  and  family  traditions  and  characteristics  ; 
the  second  'of  the  peasant  superstitions  and  customs.  The  value 
of  the  first  volume  will  not  be  quite  appreciated  perhaps  on  the 
lines  generally  followed  by  students  of  Folklore  who  are  too 
apt  to  study  the  superstitions,  customs,  and  traditions  of  the 
people  without  studying  the  people  and  their  surroundings. 
But  it  is  not  enough  to  know  what  the  Folklore  actually  is. 
We  must  get  to  know,  if  we  would  study  it  properly,  the  con- 
ditions and  surroundings  by  which  it  has  been  brought  down 
generation  after  generation.  No  one  reading  through  the  first 
volume  of  these  tracts  can  fail  to  draw  a  picture  of  border  life 
at  variance  with  what  he  would  be  inclined  to  draw  by  the  aid 
of  other  books  on  the  subject,  and  it  is  exactly  this  difference  in 
the  pictures  which  is  likely  to  be  so  valuable  to  our  future 
studies  of  the  Folklore  of  this  particular  district.  The  elements 
of  savagery  were  not  eradicated  here  ;  tribal  life  and  instincts 
still  formed  the  basis  of  the  social  condition.  The  border  chief- 
tain, caring  more  for  his  horse  than  his  land  (see  p.  17),  loved 
by  and  loving  his  own  clan,  hated  by  and  hating  all  outside  1: 


PREFACE.  IX 

own  clan,  living  by  force  of  arms  and  carrying  out  his  revenge 
against  hereditary  enemies  in  a  fashion  sanctioned  only  by 
tradition,  lives  in  rhyme,  proverb,  and  story  in  the  hearts  and 
memories  of  his  people  as  the  highest  objective  force  in  their 
lives.  Localities  to  them  were  not  what  localities  are  to  the 
modern  Englishman.  They  were  weather  guides  or  prophets ; 
they  represented  the  boundary  without  which  lived  only  aliens 
and  strangers,  who  were  of  course  enemies  (see  p.  22) ;  they 
were  the  focus-points  round  which  clans  were  forced  by  outside 
influences  to  congregate,  and  they  were  identified  in  rhyme  and 
proverb  with  the  characteristics  of  their  people ;  but  they 
were  not  home  settlements  in  our  modern  sense.  Nothing 
seems  to  me  more  significant  of  the  attitude  of  unsettled  clans 
during  the  very  process  of  transition  from  clan  life  to  village 
and  town  life  than  these  old  rhymes,  which  reflect  a  condition  of 
culture  at  distinct  variance  with  the  generally  accepted  view  of 
English  historical  evidence.  It  is  this  condition  of  culture 
which  wants  so  much  to  be  examined  carefully  and  systemati- 
cally. There  is  too  little  evidence  of  it  available  for  systematic 
treatment,  and  the  volume  before  us  is  valuable  if  only  on 
account  of  its  obvious  characteristic  as  an  undesigned  and  un- 
arranged  collection  of  important  evidence  not  to  be  obtained 
elsewhere.  Ridpath's  Border  History,  Clarke's  Survey  of  the 
Lakes,  the  volume  of  Border  Laws  published  by  the  Commis- 
sion presided  over  by  the  Bishop  of  Durham,  and  perhaps 
some  few  other  books  of  the  same  sort  and  not  generally 
accessible  to  the  student,  are  but  sidelights  of  a  picture  full  of 
deep  glaring  colours,  blood  reds  and  purples  thrown  into  the 
darkest  shades,  or  illumined  by  the  strongest  and  fiercest 
lights. 

Michael  Aislabie  Denham  died  at  Pierse  Bridge  on  the  10th 
Septejnber,  1859.  Born  near  Bowes  in  Yorkshire  after  the 
commencement  of  the  century,  he  engaged  in  business  at  Hull 


X  PUEPACE. 

during  the  early  part  of  his  life,  but  ultimately  settled  as  a 
general  merchant  in  a  moderate  way  at  Pierse  Bridge. 

In  1846,  when  the  Percy  Society  were  issuing  their  publica- 
tions, Mr.  Denham  was  induced  to  contribute  a  "  part "  of  73 
pages,  which  he  entitled  "  A  Collection  of  Proverbs  and 
Popular  Sayings  relating  to  the  Seasons,  the  Weather,  and 
Agricultural  Pursuits,  gathered  chiefly  from  Oral  Tradition." 
The  first  attempt  to  record  these  was  made  by  him  in 
"  Richardson's  Table  Book,  etc."  He  had  previously,  under 
the  signature  of  "  M.  A.  D.,"  been  a  contributor  to  Honeys 
publications.  Ten  years  afterwards  he  printed  "  Slogans,  and 
War,  and  Gathering  Cries  of  the  North  of  England,"  which 
he  issued  subsequently  with  additions  in  a  neat  volume  of  110 
pages.  About  the  same  period  he  commenced  "  A  Collection 
of  Bishoprick  Ehymes,  Proverbs,  and  Sayings,"  to  which  he 
afterwards  added  four  Tracts  of  the  same  kind,  completing  the 
last  about  1858.  "Cumberland  Rhymes,  Proverbs,  and 
Sayings "  next  occupied  his  attention,  and  these  were  con- 
tained in  four  successive  Parts,  the  last  appearing  m  1854. 

In  18.50  he  issued  "  Popular  Rhymes,  Proverbs,  Sayings, 
Prophecies,  etc.,  peculiar  to  the  Isle  of  Man,  and  the  Manks 
People,"  being  assisted  by  a  gentleman  resident  in  the  island. 

Westmoreland  also  afforded  him  gleanings  which  in  1858 
were  completed  in  two  Parts.  Of  "  Folklore  "  chiefly  relating 
to  the  North  of  England  he  issued  four  Parts  from  1850  to 
1858.  "  Sundry  Minor  Tracts,"  to  the  number  of  twenty,  he 
printed,  commencing  about  1849  and  terminating  about  1854. 
In  the  year  last  mentioned  he  began  to  print  "  Folklore  of 
Northumberland,"  which  extended  to  six  separate  impressions, 
whereof  the  last  appeared  in  1856. 

Mr.  Denham  took  great  interest  in  the  discoveries  of  Roman 
Remains  made  during  the  formation  of  the  Darlington  and 
Barnard  Castle  Railway  at  Pierse  Bridge  and  Carlebury.  An 
account  of  these,  under  the  signature  "  Archaeus,"  he  printed  in 


PREFACE.  XI 

four  notices,  October,  1855,  February,  1856,  August,  1856,  and 
7th  March,  1857.  Mr.  Denham  was  a  diligent  collector  of 
Roman  coins  and  other  antiquities,  and  furnished  his  friends 
with  impressions  of  them  in  wax  and  gutta-percha. 

His  largest  work  occupied  much  of  his  time  during  the  last 
year  of  his  life,  and  was  entitled  ''  Folklore,  or  a  Collection  of 
Local  Rhymes,  Proverbs,  Sayings,  Prophecies,  Slogans,  etc., 
relating  to  Northumberland,  Newcastle-on-Tyne,  and  Berwick- 
on  Tweed."  It  consists  of  154  pages,  and  the  impression  was 
limited  to  only  50  copies.  Besides  these  he  had  many  other 
slips  printed  on  similar  subjects,  and  the  last  effort  of  his  pen 
was  to  complete  "  A  Classified  Catalogue  of  the  Antiquarian 
Tomes,  Tracts,  and  Trifles,"  which  had  been  edited  by  himself. 
Very  few  collectors  are  in  possession  of  all  his  publications,  and 
they  who  desire  to  complete  sets  spare  no  expense  to  achieve 
that  object,  for  several  cannot  be  obtained,  and  it  is  improbable 
that  they  will  ever  be  recovered. 

In  domestic  life  Mr.  Denham  was  a  kind  and  amiable  man. 
Though  somewhat  formal  in  manner,  which  his  intercourse  with 
the  world  did  not  wear  off,  he  was  blameless  and  inoffensive, 
ever  candid  and  upright  in  his  dealings,  while  those  with  whom 
he  was  intimate  mourned  the  loss  of  a  true  and  steadfast  friend. 
His  ruling  passion  influenced  him  to  the  last ;  for  the  Catalogue 
of  his  Tracts,  already  alluded  to,  is  dated  August,  1859,  when 
he  was  subject  to  much  suffering,  and  his  correspondence  was 
maintained  to  within  a  few  days  of  his  decease. 

Dr.  Hardy  has  added  to  this  edition  of  the  Tracts  many 
valuable  notes  derived  from  his  own  observation  and  reading, 
and  these  are  distinguished  by  the  initials  [J.  H.]  printed  in 
square  brackets.  In  other  respects  the.  reprints  are  exactly  as 
they  were  last  issued  by  Mr.  Denham. 

G.  L.  GOMME. 

Barnes,  S.W., 

June,  1892. 


THE    DENHAM    TRACTS. 


SAYINGS,  CHARACTERISTICS,  &c.,  RELATING  TO  NORTH- 
UMBERLxlND,  NORTH  DURHAM,  BERWICK,  &c. 

The  following  budget,  from  a  great  variety  of  sources,  several 
of  them  being  marked  down  from  books,  and  others  picked  up 
in  the  country,  I  have  placed  here,  rather  than  -disarrange 
Mr.  Denham's  series.  Although  not  all  popular  sayings,  they  are 
akin  to  them,  and  are  good  pegs  for  hanging  historical  facts,  or 
popular  attributes  of  places  or  persons,  upon.  I  give  those  that 
refer  to  places  or  persons  in  a  sort  of  geographical  order,  com- 
mencing at  Tweedside,  and  going  southwards,  and  then  proceed 
to  those  of  a  more  general  nature,  or  possessed  of  an  historical 
character. — James  Hardy. 

Attributes  of  the  River  Tweed. 

Utmost  Tweed. — Milton. 

Tweed,  slow  winding  through  the  vale. — Somerville's  Chase,  bk.  i. 

Tweed,  pure  parent  stream, 

Whose  pastoral  banks  first  heard  my  Doric  reed. 

Thomson's  Autumn. 

Our  northern  borders  boast  of  Tweed's  fair  flood. 

Drayton's  Idea.     Sonnet  32. 
B 


2  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

Tweed,  the  limit  between  Logris  land 
And  Albany. 

Spenser's  Fairy  Queen,  bk.  iv. 

A  river  here,  there  an  ideal  line 

By  fancy  drawn,  divides  the  sister  kingdoms  ; 

On  each  side  dwells  a  people,  similar 

As  twins  are  to  each  other,  valiant  both — 

Both  for  their  valour  famous  through  the  world. 

Home's  Douglas. 

Wandering  from  muddy  Tyne  to  silver  Tweed. — B.  W. 

Tweed,  which  no  more  our  kingdoms  shall  divide. 

Forth  Feasting,  Drummond's  WorTcs,  p.  127. 

Tweed,  the  fairest  Caledonian  flood. 

Brown's  Piscatory  Eclogues,  p.  98. 

Tweed  is  notable  for  two  commodities,  specially  salmon  and  whet- 
stones.— Patten's  Expedition  into  Scotland^  London,  1 G48. 

Tweed's  silver  streams 
Glittering  in  the  sunny  beams. 

Mrs.  CocTcburn. 
What  beauty  does  Flora  disclose, 

How  sweet  are  her  smiles  upon  Tweed. 

Crauford. 

Where  Tweed's  soft  banks  in  liberal  beauty  lie, 
And  Flora  laughs  beneath  an  azure  sky. 

Langhorne. 

Both  sides  of  the  Tweed. — Toast. 

Berwick  the  second  Alexandria. 

An  ancient  historian  terms  Berwick  a  second  Alexandria. — 
Chron.  Lanercost ;  Scott's  Hist,  of  Scotland,  i.  p.  57;  Tytler, 
vol.  i.  pp.  Ill,  112  ;  Hist,  of  Berioick,  by  John  Scott,  p.  13. 

Berwick  the  Gibraltar  of  Scotland. 

Mackenzie's  Northumberland,  i.  p.  323,  note. 


LOCAL  SAYINGS,  ETC.  3 

From  Byron  to  Berwick — Berwick  to  Calais. 

So  clerre,  and  so  colour  like 
That  no  bird  was  liim  like, 
Fro  Byron  to  Berwike 
Under  the  bewis. 

The  Houlat  hy  Holland. 

Sibbald's  Ghron.  of  S.  Poet,  pt.  i.  p.  78. 

Gif  evir  my  fortune  was  to  be  a  freir, 
The  dait  thairof  is  past  full  mony  a  yeir, 
For  unto  every  lusty  toun  and  place, 
Of  all  Yngland,  from  Berwick  to  Calaice, 
I  have  into  thy  habit  maid  gud  cheir. 

Dunbar's  How  Dunbar  was  designed  to  be  ane  Frear. 

Berwick  to  the  Land's  End. 
As  for  protection,  her  face  will  protect  her  from  Berwick  to 
the  Land's  End. — Fortunes  of  Nigel,  iii.  p.  33. 

Fro  Berwyk  unto  Ware. 

Chaucer's  Canterbury  Tales,  1.  694. 

Berwick. 

At  the  battle  of  Shrewsbury  in  1402,  when  buckling  on  his 
armour.  Hotspur  called  for  his  sword ;  and  on  his  attendant 
telling  him  it  had  been  left  at  Berwic,  a  village  not  far  distant. 
Hotspur  exclaimed,  "  At  Berwic  a  wizard  told  me  I  should  not 
live  long  after  seeing  Berwic,  but  I  always  thought  of  Berwic/i- 
upon-Tweedj^*  and  from  that  moment  he  was  visibly  discom- 
posed.— Accompaniment  to  Topographical  Map  of  England, 
p.  94. 

The  incident  is  thus  related  by  "Wyntomi.  While  the  Regent 
of  Scotland,  a.d.  1403,  led  an  army  to  the  assistance  of  Cock- 
law — 

b2 


4  THE  DE^THAM  TRACTS. 

In  all  this  tyni  tlie  young  Percy, 
Be  wicbcraft  or  devilry, 
Trowit,  in  nane  utbir  stede 
Bot  in  Berwike  to  be  ded  : 
Berwike-upon-Tweed  for-tbi 
He  for-bare  for  tbat  fantasy. 

Cron.  bk.  ix.  c.  34 ;  vol.  ii.  p.  407. 

In  the  Battle  of  Shrewsbury — 

In-to  the  Feild  of  Berwike  then 
All  assemblyt  tliir  Ynglis  men. 
That  wyst  nocht  this  yong  Percy 
Bot  trowit  that  land  was  Schrewisbery, 
Quhil  he  had  sped  wyth-outyn  let, 
And  his  hors  some  til  hym  get. 
Than  ansuerit  hym  a  multitude, 
That  his  hors  in  Berwike  stad. 
"  In  Berwik  !  "  he  said,  "  than  am  I 
All  begylit  swykfully."  * 

lb.  p.  408. 

"  Braid-Walit  Berwick,"  i.e.  "  Broad-walled." 

Braid-walit  Berwick, 

Tuedis  toune,  famosit  befoir 

Throw  many  scoir 
'        Off  mortall-myndit  men  ; 
Bot  now  we'll  ken 

His  death  is  (has)  gained  mair  gloir 

Than  ever  befoir, 
Thocht  thowsandis  in  thee  slain. 

Gife  cities  stroave  qulia  brocht  to  Homer  breath, 

Then  boldlie  Berwick  brag  of  sic  a  death. 
Giv  cities  sevin  for  Paganis  birth  contend 
Then  much  mair  Berwick  famous,  be  his  end  ! 

Poems    on    the  Death   of  Mr.   James  Melvill,   by   Thomas 
Melvill,  aged   14. — Pref.   to   MelvilVs   Aufohiog.  p.   Ixxii.    &c. 

*  i.e.  deceitfully. 


LOCAL  SAYINGS,  ETC.  5 

Mr.  James  Melvill  died  at  Berwick,  Jan.  21,  1613  (o.s.)   (1614 
N.s,),  aged  59,  in  tlie  eighth  year  of  his  banishment. 

"  Bonny  Berwick." 

A  proverbial  epithet  applied  by  the  Newcastle  Daily  Chronicle^ 
1861,  to  a  native  of  the  town  guilty  of  cheatery. 

Hang-a-Dyke-Nook. 

Opposite  to  the  castle  (of  Berwick)  on  the  other  side  of  the 
river  is  still  seen  the  place  called  Hang-a-Dyke-Nook,  where  the 
young  Setons  were  executed.  An  old  woman  who  was  hanging 
out  her  clothes  to  bleach  said,  "  Ye  see  it  by  the  length  of  bank 
that  has  shuthered  down.  They  say  it  will  never  stop  up  if  they 
build  it  up  ever  so  often."  But  I  could  not  find  that  she  could 
remember  it  ever  to  have  been  built  up  in  her  time — twenty 
years.  Be  that  as  it  may,  about  a  hundred  yards  there  show  a 
red  vacancy  of  earth  on  the  otherwise  green  banks  of  the  river. 
— Hewitt's  Visit  to  Remarkable  Places,  pp.  491,  492.  See 
Eidpath's  Border  Hist.  p.  306. 

The  Berwick  Smacks. 

This  occurs  as  a  nickname  applied  by  Northumbrians  to 
sheai-ers  from  Berwick  in  a  kemp. — Story's  Harvest,  p.  54. 

The  Bound  Kode. 

In  Mr.  Patrick  Galloway's  letter  to  Mr.  James  Carmichaell 
(agent  at  London  of  the  banished  Scots  Lords  then  at  New- 
castle), from  Newcastle,  the  2nd  November,  1584:  "This  same 
minor  natu  Clodius  (Lord  Claude  Hamilton)  is  to  be  at  London, 
and  (is)  to  stay  at  his  power  the  good  cause.  With  him  we  are 
informed  Metellanus,  Montrosius,  and  l^Telvinus  deales,  and 
some  of  his  side  of  the  Bound  Rode.  I  am  sure  ye  will  get  know- 
ledge." (The  "  Bound  Rode  "  was  the  line  of  boundary,  on 
this   side   of   Berwick,    separating  the   two   kingdoms.) — The 


6  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

Miscellanies  of  the  Wodrow  Society^  edited  by  David  Laing,  Esq. 
Edin.  1844,  p.  424. 

Berwick. 

"  As  for  poor  Maggy  she  must  shift  for  herself,  as  the 
forester  did  when  he  was  left  alone  to  cry  out  '  Bare  w^eek.' 
Tradition  derives  the  name  of  Berwick  from  this  strange 
etymology ;  also  from  being  a  rendezvous  of  bears,  which  are 
blazoned  on  the  town  arms." — Millers  Baldred  of  the  Bass, 
p.  113. 

Berwick  Bridge. 

"It  is  said  that  it  is  founded  upon  woolpacks,  from  the 
sources  whence  the  expenses  of  building  were  drawn." — 
Jeffrey's  Hist,  of  Roxburghshire,  iii.  p.  24,  note. 

"  The  Gooseberries." 

In  the  report  of  the  Berwick  Election  Bribery  Commission, 
1861,  it  is  stated  :  "  Mr.  Weatherhead,  the  Conservative  agent, 
said  he  thought  he  had  heard  that  head-money  was  considered 
by  the  freemen  as  a  sort  of  right."  It  went  by  the  name  of 
*'  gooseberries."  On  this  the  Berwick  Advertiser,  Feb.  23, 
1861,  remarks  :  "  Head-money,  known  as  gooseberries,  has  not 
existed  in  the  borough  of  Berwick  for  the  last  sixty  years. 
About  sixty  years  back  the  gooseberries  were  openly  and  regu- 
larly ripe  for  pulling  in  the  autumn ;  but  in  1802  a  contested 
election  took  place  between  Colonel  Hall  and  Mr.  Fordyce  of 
Ayton  on  one  side,  and  Mr.  Daniel  Ord  of  Longridge  on  the 
other.  The  last-named  was  unsuccessful  at  the  poll,  and  he 
petitioned  against  the  two  others,  and  unseated  them  on  the 
question  of  '  gooseberries.'  Since  then  there  has  been  no  head- 
money  known  as  gooseberries  paid  in  the  borough." 

"The  Gull- Hole." 
The  name  given  to  the  house  where  the  Conservative  bribery 


^ 


LOCAL  SAYINGS,  ETC.  7 

agent  of  recent  years  distributed  the  money  to  the  freemen.  A 
"  gull  hole  "  is  a  pit  on  the  sea-coast  for  concealment  in  shoot- 
ing gulls  and  other  sea-fowl. 

Carham  Haugh,  or  Spittal  Sands. 

On  the  Tweedside,  from  Kelso  upwards,  it  is  a  common 
saying,  that  if  the  bodies  of  drowned  persons  are  got  nowhere 
else,  they  are  sure  to  be  found  on  Carham  Haugh  or  Spittal 
Sands. — Paterson's  Philip  Cranston,  p.  34. 

As  DEEP  AS  Pedwell  (pron.  Pedell). 

Pedwell  is  a  fishery  in  the  Tweed.  It  is  mentioned  by 
Reginald  of  Durham  in  his  Miracles  of  St.  Cnthbert,  c.  73, 
p.  149,  as  "Padduwell." 

Fisherman  of  Norham, 

"  There's  neither  goat's  hair  nor  ony  thing  else  brings  ony 
rain  as  lang  ns  it's  dry  weather,  as  the  fishermen  of  Norham 
say  when  they  are  longing  for  rain." 

Cirrus  clouds,  with  flexuous  and  diverging  fibres,  and  re- 
sembling locks  of  hair,  are  called  goat's  hair,  and  indicate  wind 
or  rain.  Several  years  since  I  arranged  with  a  friend  to  visit 
Cheviot,  and  I  happened  to  be  strolling  with  an  intelligent 
farmer  over  his  fields  on  the  day  preceding  my  visit.  "  Ah," 
says  he,  looking  up  to  the  sky,  "  you'll  have  a  bad  day  to- 
morrow for  Cheviot — see  the  goat's  hair."  I  could  not  believe 
his  prophecy,  for  the  day  was  remarkably  fine  and  the  weather 
appeared  settled.  To  Cheviot  I  went,  but  there  I  encountered 
one  of  the  greatest  thunderstorms  I  ever  witnessed. 

When  dry  weather  continues  for  any  length  of  time,  no 
salmon  can  be  caught  at  Norham,  and  the  fishers  become  so  im- 
patient and  querulous  that  they,  by  their  proverb,  disavow  all 
faith  in  weather  prognostics. — Mr.  George  Tate  and  Mr.  W. 
Wiglitman. 


8  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

St.  Cuthbert's  Stone  Boat. 

"  Tillraouth  is  a  small  village  on  the  west  of  Twizell  Bridge. 
It  belongs  principally  to  Sir  Francis  Blake,  who  has  built  a 
neat  little  mansion-house  for  his  occasional  residence  on  the 
banks  of  the  Till,  and  at  the  east  end  of  the  village.  It  contains 
an  excellent  collection  of  paintings  (pictures).  Tillmouth  be- 
longed to  Jordan  Riddell  in  1272,  and  afterwards  to  the 
Claverings  for  many  generations.  Tillmouth  Chapel,  dedicated 
to  St.  Cuthbert,  and  situated  on  a  peninsula  at  the  confluence 
of  the  Till  and  Tweed,  is  now  in  ruins.  Not  far  from  this 
ruined  building  Sir  Francis  Blake,  a  few  years  ago,  built  a 
small  chapel.  Near  this  place  lay,  till  lately,  the  remains  of  a 
stone  boat  or  coffin,  in  which,  tradition  says,  the  body  of  St. 
Cuthbert  was  miraculously  conveyed   down  the  Tweed  from 

Melros." 

*  «  «  *  •  « 

Mr.  Hutchinson  mentions  a  circumstance  which  continues  to 
be  repeated  among  the  Northumbrian  peasantry.  "  There  was, 
some  years  ago,  a  design  to  convert  this  hallowed  vessel  to  a 
mean  purpose,  a  peasant  having  devised  to  pickle  pork  in  it,  or 
thereout  to  feed  his  hogs ;  to  preserve  it  from  such  profanation, 
the  spirits  of  darkness  brake  it  in  the  night." — Mackenzie's 
Northumberland,  i.  p.  338,  2d  ed.  1825. 

Lambe,  in  his  Notes  to  the  Battle  of  Flodden,  p.  158,  gives  a 
different  version  :  "  Not  many  years  since  a  farmer  of  Cornhill 
coveted  the  saint's  stone  boat,  in  order  to  keep  pickled  beef  in 
it.  Before  this  profane  loon  could  convey  it  away,  the  saint 
came  in  the  night  time  and  broke  it  in  pieces,  which  now  lie  at 
St.  Cuthbert's  Chapel  to  please  the  curious  and  confute  the 
unbeliever." 

"  About  three  miles  west  from  this  place,"  says  Mark, 
writing  in  1734,  "at  the  confluence  of  the  Till  and  Tweed, 
are  the  remains  of  an  old  Popish  chapel,  dedicated  to  St.  Cuth- 
bert, and  a  kind  of  stone  trough,  almost  in  the  form  of  a  boat. 


LOCAL  SAYINGS,  ETC.  9 

The  inhabitants  thereabout  affirm  this  to  have  been  in  reality 
used  as  such  by  that  celebrated  wonder-working  saint,  and  have 
a  story  among  them  of  his  saihng  in  it.  It  is  narrower  at  the 
one  end  than  the  other,  and  is  a  kind  of  hard  freestone,  or,  as  it 
is  called,  bastard  whin."  ^  "^  "I  was  told  many  romantic 
stories  concerning  it,  particularly  of  a  good  farmer,  Roger 
Percy,  that  had  the  misfortune  to  profane  the  ground  about  the 
chapel  with  the  plough,  for  which  his  saintship  was  pleased  to 
send  a  plague  of  madness  on  him  and  his  whole  family." — 
Mark's  Survey  of  Northumberland,  p.  75. 

From  a  copy  of  verses  inscribed  in  the  Neiocastle  Magazine 
for  1827,  p.  81,  it  appears  that  even  the  fragments  were  at 
length  broken  into  pieces,  and  that  for  the  purpose  of  building  a 
stone  wall.     The  writer  observed  two  pieces  of  it. 

But  r.h  !  at  last  time  changed  the  scene, 
An'  changed  our  fortune  sair  I  ween  ; 
The  Cleghorns  rose — foul  fa'  their  spleen 

The  loun-like  tykes  ! 
An'  the  stane-boat  hae  broken  clean 

To  mend  their  dykes. 

It  has  recently  been  alleged  that  the  Rev.  Robert  Lambe 
invented  the  story  of  the  "  Stone  Boat ;  "  but  the  date  of  Mark''s 
"  Survey  "  disproves  this. 

HONI  SOIT  QUI  MAL  Y  PENSE. 

The  institution  of  the  Order  of  the  Garter  took  place  in  con- 
sequence of  a  circumstance  that  happened  at  Wark  Castle,  about 
1342. 

Haddek,  Pressok,  Paston,  Downham,  and  Kilham. 

The  country  people  pun  on  the  names  of  these  places,  which— 
except  the  first,  which  is  in  Scotland — are  in  Northumberland, 
and  say  that  when  arranged  they  represent  the  incidents  of  a 
hunt.  The  fox,  or  whatever  was  the  beast  of  game,  was,  let  us 
say,  found  at  Had-him  ;  the  hunters  were  in  full  career  at 
Press-him  ;    but  the  hounds  were  at  fault  at  Pass'd-him ;  but 


10  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

having  again  caught  the  scent  they  bowled  him  over  at  Downed- 
him  ;  he,  howevei-,  recovered  his  limbs,  and  got  away ;  but 
was  finally  run  into  at  Kill-him. 

A  simple  country  girl  was  once  met  sobbing  and  crying  on 
the  road  between  Downham  and  Kilham.  Being  asked  where 
she  came  from  and  what  was  the  matter,  she  replied,  "  My 
fayther's  deein',  I've  come  frae  Downham  (dooing  him),  and 
I'm  gaun  to  Kilham  "   (Kill-him). 

An  Irish  tramp  being  told  that  the  village  he  had  come  to 
was  Kilham,  said  he  expected  that  the  next  place  on  the  road 
would  be  Eat-him. 

There  is  said  to  be  also  a  saying  about  Tiparee  and  Hungry 
House,  Downham,  and  Kilham,  but  my  informant  could  not 
recollect  it. 

I  find  another  country  pun  upon  the  name  of  one  of  these 
places,  in  the  novel  of  Mattheio  Paxton,  3  vols.  London,  1854. 
"  It  was  while  we  were  passing  over  an  old  battle-field,  where 
our  countrymen  won  a  great  battle,  and  killed  a  Scottish  king  : 
we  were  going,  indeed,  to  a  place  with  an  ominous  name, 
savouring  of  the  old  bloody  times,  which  the  country  folks  said, 
indeed,  it  took  from  that  great  battle  ;  and  so  in  memory  of  the 
cries  of  the  pursuers  as  they  overtook  the  flying  Scots,  '  Down 
■wi'  them,'  the  peaceful  farming  hamlet  of  Downham  got  its 
name."— (Vol.  ii.  p.  170.) 

There  still  remains  another  saying,  viz. : 

Crookliouse  and  Tiparee 
Stand  always  ajee. 

They  are  both  situated  on  a  slope  adjacent  to  Beaumont  Water. 

Crooked  Crookham. 

This  is  a  play  on  the  word,  which  has  derived  its  name  from 
a  bend  of  the  River  Till,  near  which  it  is  situated.  It  is  a 
village  in  the  pai'ish  of  Branxton.  There  is  a  Presbyterian 
meeting-house  at  Crookham,  of  which  a  legend  is  told  of  its 


LOCAL  SAYINGS,  ETC.  II 

building.  After  the  ground  was  marked  out,  and  the  founda- 
tions were  begun  to  be  laid,  somebody  moved  the  marks  that 
had  been  stuck  in  the  ground  (and  everybody  thought  they  were 
spirits  who  did  it)  and  put  them  in  another  place,  making  the 
place  nearly  twice  as  big  as  it  was  intended  to  have  been.  At 
the  first  sacrament  a  being  declared  that  the  place  would  always 
be  cursed  with  fightings  and  contentioiis,  and  then  vanished — 
Mattheio  Paxton,  ii.  pp.  173,  176. 

Like  Ancroft  Bell-rope. 

The  bell-rope  of  the  decayed  village  of  Ancroft,  in  North 
Durham,  broke,  and  the  churchwardens  held  no  less  than  nine 
meetings  to  deliberate  whether  to  purchase  a  new  or  repair  the 
old  one ;  at  last  it  was  decided  to  splice  it.  Mark,  in  his  Survey, 
1734,  says:  "The  chapel  is  mean  and  its  steeple  remarkable 
for  its  form  (it  was  a  border  tower),  and  being  for  some  time 
the  dAvelling-house  of  one  of  the  curates,  called  Beuly,  for  life. 
It  is  repaired  at  the  expense  of  the  parishioners,  except  the 
chancel  "  (p.  72).  The  place  was  inhabited  by  doggers.  When 
one  of  the  plagues  of  whicli  tradition  speaks  on  one  occasion 
reached  the  place,  those  who  were  seized  were  carried  out  to  a 
hill-face,  which  was  overgrown  with  broom,  out  of  which  shrub 
a  bower  or  booth  was  constructed,  in  which  they  were  placed 
(not  without  food  it  is  to  be  hoped)  till  they  died ;  and  then  both 
the  booth  and  the  body  were  burnt.  This  plague  also  visited 
Belford,  and  there  the  sick  also  were  carried  out — in  this  case 
to  an  open  moor,  and  when  death  relieved  them  they  were 
buried  in  their  clothes  upon  the  moor,  where  the  graves  are 
still  pointed  out.  This  I  recently  heard  from  an  inhabitant  of 
Belford. 

BowsDON  Justice. 

According  to  tradition,  at  Bowsdon,  a  Scotsman,  shortly 
before  the  union  of  the  crowns,  entered  the  village  one  evening 
with  a  halter  in  his  hand.      What  could  he  want  with  it  ?     To 


12  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

steal  a  horse,  of  course.  His  looks  were  unfavourable — liis 
replies  to  divers  questions  deemed  unsatisfactory,  and  the  in- 
habitants, without  farther  ceremony,  hanged  him  with  his  own 
halter  on  an  ash-tree  at  Old  Woodside  ! — Mackenzie's  Hist,  of 
Nortlmmherlandy  i.  p.  381. 

The  Gowks  of  Glendale. 
A  short  comedy  from  real  life,  by  R.  Story,  appears  in  the  New- 
castle Magazine,  1827,  pp.  147-151.  When  the  relater  appears 
as  the  tutor  in  the  family,  the  sister  of  the  farmer's  wife  runs  off 
with  the  ploughman,  after  the  minister  and  austere  father  had 
bargained,  the  one  with  the  wife,  the  other  with  her  brother- 
in-law,  for  her  hand,  and  a  portion  with  it.  Near  the  end 
Clinkverse  says,  ''  There  are  several  Gowks  in  Glendale  besides 
me  to-night.  She's  over  the  border  with  Adam  saw  the  Wind.^^ 
From  a  notice  in  the  June  number,  one  of  ^^  the  Gowks  of 
Glendale,  without  signing  his  name,  complains  of  personality  in 
that  dramatic  piece."  Some  verses  that  I  recently  saw  quoted 
in  a  MS.  genealogy  of  the  Burrells  of  Howtel,  Millfield,  and 
Broom  Park,  mention  "  the  Gowks  of  Glendale,"  as  arising  from 
an  incident  in  the  history  of  that  family. 

Turnip  Rhyme. 
About  thirty-six  years  ago,  the  following  verse  was  inscribed 
on    a    finger-post,    directing   the   way    to    Earle,    Middleton, 
Middleton  Hall,  &c.  :— 

Traveller,  as  you  pass  by, 

Take  a  turnip  if  you  are  dry  ; 

One  will  not  hurt  you,  two  will  transport  you, 

And  three  will  condemn  you  to  die. 

Hedgehope,  Cheviot,  and  Langleyford. 

Hedgehope  and  Cheviot  are  pleasant  bits  of  ground, 
But  such  a  spot  as  Langleyford  is  scarcely  to  be  found. 

Langleyford  is  a  farm-house  on  Harthopeburn,  at  the  foot 


LOCAL  SAYI^IGS,  ETC.  '  13 

of  Cheviot  and  Iledgeliope,  placed  in  a  sheltered  situation, 
and  a  charming  place  for  a  summer  residence.  The  rhyme 
was  repeated  by  a  shepherd  on  the  summit  of  Hedgehope, 
which  is  the  rival  of  Cheviot  in  catching  the  eye,  but  by  no 
means  equal  to  it  either  in  bulk,  height,  or  variety  of  features. 

Streets  of  Doddington. 

Southgate  and  Sandgate  and  np  (or  down)  the  Cat  Raw, 
The  Tinkler's  Street,  and  Byegate  Ha  ! 

The  Tinkler's  Street  is  the  principal  passage,  where  muggers 
set  out  their  wares  for  the  villagers'  inspection.  Byegate  Ha ! 
was  an  old  farmhouse.  This  village  of  yore  was  only  a 
collection  of  low-roofed  thatched  cottages,  inhabited  by  farm- 
servants,  weavers,  and  shoemakers.  There  is  a  Northumbrian 
pipe-tune  still  in  vogue,  entitled  "  Dorrington  lads  yet." 

The  following  rhyme  is  still  popular.  It  refers  to  a  period 
when  the  little  tradesmen,  mostly  extinct  now,  had  each  a 
"  cuddie  "  to  ride  to  Wooler  and  elsewhere  for  marketing  and 
on  business.      [Dorrington  is  the  popular  name  of  the  place.] 

Dorrington  lads  is  bonny  and  Dorrington  lads  is  canny, 
And  I'll  hae  a  Dorrington  lad,  and  ride  a  Dorrington  cuddy. 

Of  this  primitive  village,  which  is  situated  at  the  foot  of  a  hill 
called  Doddington  Dodlaw,  at  no  great  distance  from  the  river 
Till,  we  have  a  picture  as  it  existed  in  1734,  from  Mark's 
Survey.  "It  is  remarkable  for  its  largeness,  the  badness  of 
its  houses  and  low  situation,  and  perhaps  for  the  greatest 
quantities  of  geese  of  any  of  its  neighbourhood,  and  is  distin- 
guished from  all  the  rest  in  the  county  except  Branxton  for 
having  the  chapel  covered  with  heather  and  straw." 

Ilka  Day  Burrell. 

Within  living  memory  the  farm  of  South  Doddington  was 
tenanted  by  a  family  named  Burrell,  but  they  left  no  posterity. 


14  THE  DENHAM  TKACTS. 

One  of  the  ancestors  was  much  disliked  by  the  conterminous 
occupants  for  his  pilfering  habits  exercised  at  their  expense, 
he  being  a  sort  of  daylight  robber.  The  Scots  thieves  were  a 
grievance,  but,  as  they  pounced  upon  them  only  now  and  then, 
their  coming  could  not  be  calculated  upon ;  but  Burrell's  petty 
depredations  were  so  incessant  that  they  demanded  constant 
vigilance  and  precaution.  On  this  account  they  nicknamed 
him  "  Ilka  Day  Burrell."  In  1584  "  Heiland  or  Border  Theiff" 
was  reckoned  among  things  irremediable,  and  so  these  Northum- 
brians in  the  early  part  of  the  last  century  had  viewed  it. 

Chatton  Chalkless, 
Chillingliam  Cheeseless, 
Horton  Hogless, 
Dorrington  Dogless. 

These  four  places  thus  denied  their  characteristics  are 
situated  on  the  banks  of  the  river  Till. 

The  foot  of  Breamish  and  the  head  of  Till, 
Meet  together  at  Bewick  Mill. 

Breamish  and  Till  are  the  same  river,  the  part  above  Bewick 
Bridge  being  called  Breamish,  that  below  it  Till.  Horsley, 
following  Camden,  makes  the  statement,  that  "  near  Brumford, 
Brumridge,  or  Brounrigg,  Glen  and  Bramish  unite,  and  when 
united  bear  the  name  of  Till ;"  but  he  goes  on  to  say,  '*  accord- 
ing to  the  country  people,  the  name  of  Till  begins  at  Bewick 
Bridge,  so  that  some  part  of  Bramish,  before  its  union  with 
Glen,  carries  the  name."  (Inedited  Contributions  to  the  Hist, 
of  Northumherland,  p.  60.)  Mackenzie  also  follows  Camden. 
Breamish  is  the  Bromic  of  the  Historia  de  S.  Cuthherto ; 
and  the  Browni,  of  Harrison's  Description  of  England. 

There  will  always  be  a  Hall  at  Bewick.* 
A  family  named  Hall  has  lived  from  time  beyond  memory 
*  Arch,  ^liana,  n.s.  vii.  p.  92. 


LOCAL  SAYINGS,  ETC.  15 

at  Old  Bewick,  and  there  was  still  one  of  the  name  there  when 
this  prophetic  dictum  was  communicated  to  me,  many  years  ago. 

Here's  the  nail,  but  where's  the  hammer, 
That  killed  John  Kay  at  Lilburn  Allots. 

About  1811,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Rosedean,  a  farmhouse, 
two  or  three  miles  distant  from  Lilburn  Allers,  noted  for  the 
frequent  robberies  formerly  happening  near  it,  a  murder  was 
committed  upon  the  highway,  unequalled  in  the  annals  of 
atrocity.  A  journeyman  mason,  who  lived  at  AVooler,  in 
returning  from  his  work,  in  the  glare  of  sunshine,  was  attacked 
by  an  assassin,  who,  after  perpetrating  his  murderous  work, 
coolly  exchanged  shoes  with  his  victim.  He  then  tossed  him 
over  a  dike,  and  having  bent  a  bramble  bush  over  the  body,  it 
was  some  time  before  it  was  discovered.  Such  hellish  delight 
had  been  felt  in  the  performance  of  this  tragedy  that  (on  the 
authority  of  one  of  the  gentlemen  who  sat  on  the  coroner's 
inquest,  for  the  statement)  the  body  was  perforated  by  twenty- 
one  wounds,  of  which  any  of  nineteen  must  have  proved 
instantly  mortal.  It  is  lamentable  to  add,  that,  though  the 
miscreant  appears  to  have  slept  the  following  night  in  a  field 
of  com  adjoining  the  spot,  he  has  never  been  traced,  and  the 
blood  of  the  murdered  still  cries  to  Heaven  for  vengeance. — 
(Mason's  Border  Tour,  pp.  206-7,  Edin.  1826.  Richardson's 
Table  Book,  iii.  pp.  112-113). 

I  have  gleaned  a  few  facts  about  this  transaction.  It  was  not 
at  Rosedean,  but  on  the  roadside,  near  Lilburn  Allers,  that  the 
murder  was  committed.  The  road  is  now  changed.  A  stone 
used  to  mark  the  spot  It  was  supposed  to  have  been  a  soldier 
who  did  the  deed ;  a  soldier's  button  was  found  near  the  spot, 
and  the  wounds  were  bayonet  wounds.  The  victim's  name  was 
John  Kay,  and  he  resided  in  Wooler.  He  had  that  day  received 
some  money  from  Mr.  Collingwood  of  Lilburn,  and  was  on  his 


16  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

journey  home.  Tlie  money  and  liis  watch  were  taken  away. 
There  was  a  belief  that  it  had  been  done  partly  through  revenge. 
A  discharged  soldier  named  Douglas,  who  belonged  to  Wooler, 
but  who  had  landed  at  Tynemouth  that  very  day,  was  taken 
upon  suspicion,  but  owing  chiefly  to  this  circumstance  he  was 
released.  He  and  his  children  were  avoided  by  all  the  towns- 
people, and  they  always  bore  the  character  of  an  evil  race. 
Two  years  ago  I  copied  Kay's  epitaph  in  Wooler  churchyard, 
which  fixes  the  date  to  have  been  the  27th  of  August,  1811,  his 
age  being  27  years.  He  was  married,  and  his  only  son  in  after 
years  emigrated  to  America.  The  saying  is  still  common  among 
young  people.  The  subject  forms  the  incident  of  a  story  in  the 
Itinerant's  Journal,  a  forgotten  Edinburgh  publication,  of  date 
about  1832-3. 

As  lang  as  grund  grows  grass 

And  knout  grows  hair 

Roddam  of  Roddam  for  evermair. 

Variation  of  a  rhyme  given  subsequently .— Gr.  T. 

Branton  and  Brandon,  Fawdon  and  the  Clinch, 
Ingram  and  Reavely  will  put  them  to  a  pinch. 

This  looks  like  a  portion  of  a  hunting  song. —  W.  Wightman. 

Harrowqate's  "White  Horse. 

And  Crawley  now 
Frown'd  from  its  height,  with  lordly  look. 

Hall's  Widdrington,  a  Tale  of  Hedgley  Moor,  p.  48. 

Antiquaries  conjecture  that  Crawley  may  have  been  a  Roman 
station,  and  some  of  the  earth-works  still  visible  there  are  ascribed 
to  that  people ;  but  the  present  roofless  tower  is  of  more  modern 
date,  and,  in  all  probability,  formed  one  in  the  chain  of  fortresses 
that  extended  across  the  country  for  protection  against  the 
borderers,  and  certainly  it  is  most  admirably  situated  for  such 


I 


LOCAL  SAYIKGS,  ETC.  17 

a  purpose,  as  it  commands  an  extensive  prospect  all  round  for 
manj  miles.  Tradition,  without  being  supported  by  any  historical 
authority,  says  that  the  square  keep  or  tower  was  built  by  a 
famous  "Eider"  called  Crawley;  hence  the  place  got  its  name. 
The  tower  was  at  an  after  period  the  residence  of  one  of  the 
author's  ancestors  named  Harrowgate,  of  whom  many  anecdotes 
are  yet  extant,  and  amongst  others  is  the  following :  Mr.  Har- 
rowgate possessed  a  remarkably  fine  white  horse,  for  he  was  not 
behind  his  neighbours  in  making  excursions  north  of  the  Cheviot, 
and  the  then  proprietor  of  the  Crawley  estate  took  so  great  a 
fancy  to  this  beautiful  charger,  that,  after  finding  he  could  not 
tempt  Harrowgate  to  sell  him  for  money,  he  offered  him  the 
whole  of  this  fine  estate  in  exchange  for  his  horse ;  but  Mr.  H., 
in  the  true  spirit  of  a  border  rider,  made  him  this  bold  reply : 
"  I  can  find  lands  when  I  have  use  for  them ;  but  there  is  no 
sic  a  beast  (i.e.  horse)  i'  yon  side  o'  the  Cheviot,  nor  yet  o'  this, 
and  I  wad  na  part  wi'  him  if  Crawley  were  made  o'  gold."  How 
little  did  the  value  of  landed  property  appear  in  those  days  of 
trouble  and  inquietude,  and  how  much  less  were  the  comfort  of 
succeeding  generations  consulted  ?  The  only  property  of  value 
then  to  a  borderer  was  his  trusty  arms,  and  a  fleet  and  active 
horse,  and  these  seem  to  have  been  the  only  things  appreciated 
by  this  old  gentleman. —  Widdrington,  a  Tale  of  Hedgleij  Moor, 
in  two  cantos.  By  James  Hall.  Alnwick,  Printed  by  J. 
Graham,  Fenkle  Street,  1827,  royal  8vo.,  note  at  page  92. 

Ye're  like  the  Dead  Wives  o'  Eslikgton,  no'  to  lippen  to. 

Eslington  is  a  seat  of  the  Earl  of  Eavensworth,  near  Whit- 
tingham.  The  saying  is  a  misapplication  or  corruption  of  the 
Berwickshire  proverb,  "  Like  the  dead  wife  o'  Earlstomi,  no'  to 
lippen  to." 


K 


18  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

Ye'ke  like  Meg  Macfarlane,  who  had  a  Twenty  Hundred 
Minds,  whether  to  go  for  the  Night  to  Whittingham  or 
TO  Fishes-stead  (or  Fishers-stead). 

Meg  was  a  tall  stout  woman,  who  sold  throughout  the  country 
the  heather-besoms  manufactured  by  her  father,  Jamie  Macfar- 
lane, who  during  summer  dwelt  in  a  peage  or  divot-hut  on 
Belford  Moor,  where  he  found  sticks  for  handles  in  the  woods 
for  nothing.  He  had  an  alternative  place  of  residence  likewise 
on  Rimside  Moor.  Jamie,  a  long,  lank  man,  had  his  wits  about 
him,  and  had  a  remarkable  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures ;  but 
Meg  could  rarely  decide  for  herself.  The  question  was  put  to 
her,  about  mid-afternoon  at  Fowberry  Newhall,  where  she  was 
bound  for  to-night  ?  to  which  she  replied  as  above.  Both  places 
are  about  twelve  miles  distant.  Fishers-stead  is  said  to  be  in  the 
Norham  district.  The  saying  is  frequently  adduced  for  the 
benefit  of  those  who  hesitate  in  coming  to  a  decision.  There  is 
another  saying  about  Meg  or  Peg,  that,  having  friends  both  at 
North  Sunderland  and  Fountain  Craig,  she  sat  down  on  Belford 
Moor,  for  a  long  time  quite  puzzled  which  she  should  visit,  hence 
the  saying,  "  As  sore  puzzled  as  Peg  Macfarlane,  who  didn't 
know  whether  to  go  to  North  Sunderland  or  to  Fountain  Craig." 

"  You  are  as  bad  as  the  Kebs  of  Lorbottle, 
Ye'll  eat  nineteen  penny  loaves  to  a  pint 
Of  ye'll,  and  cry  for  more  stuffing." 

This  is  applied  to  gluttonous  eaters.  I  do  not  certainly  know 
the  meaning  of  Kebs — probably  it  is  a  corruption  of  Cubs,  from 
their  unlicked  condition  (Geo.  Tate),  more  likely  of  Keaves. — 
See  elsewhere. 

It  is  also  laid  to  their  charge  that  they  had  to  go  to  the  door 
to  see  the  raindroj)s  falling  in  the  pools  to  be  sure  that  it  was 
actually  raining. 

The  expression  had  a  proverbial  aspect,  being  "  Gang  an'  look 


LOCAL  SAYINGS,  ETC.  19 

at  the  pools  to  see  if  it  is  raining,  like  the  folks  o'  Lorbottle." 
Mj  informant,  who  was  a  native  of  the  place,  had  also  heard  the 
expression,  "  Gaed  to  catch  the  moon,  like  the  folks  o'  Lorbottle." 
See  on  this  a  subsequent  paragraph. 

Like  the  Wheat-stack  o'  Biddleston  it  had  everything  to 

DEE  (do). 

This  wonderful  wheals  stack  was  the  resource  of  the  future, 
when  any  domestic  want  occurred  or  the  payment  of  any  debt 
was  required.  ''  Wait  till  the  wheat-stack  is  threshed  and  then 
you'll  get  it,"  the  good  man  would  say ;  but  the  little  rick  was 
quite  inadequate  to  sustain  the  numerous  claims  dependent  on 
it.  Biddleston  is  the  seat  of  what  Camden  calls,  even  in  his 
time,  "  the  worshipful  family  "  of  the  Selbies  (Horsley). 

As  Secure  or  Strong  as  Bambrough. 

"  That's  as  secure  as  Bambrough,  Mr.  Radley,"  said  he. 
"Did  Morton  not  shake  at  the  terrors  of  the  clause  of  sale  ?" — 
The  Mortgagee^  Edin',  Cabinet  Novels,  i.  253,  Edin.  1838. 

"  Radley  assures  me  the  title  is  as  strong  as  Bambrough  Castle, 
and  I  have  no  doubt  of  it." — lb,  p.  323. 

BuDLE  Cockles,  etc. 

These  are  famous.  See  Horsley's  Northumberland^  p.  30; 
also  Oliver's  Rambles  in  Northumberland,  p.  207.  Muffett,  On 
JFoofZ  (London,  1655),  says  codlings  are  taken  in  great  plenty 
near  to  Bedwell  in  Northumberlandshire,  p.  155.  See  also 
Lovell  On  Animals. 

Laidlaw  woitn,  seven  miles  east 
And  seven  miles  west, 
And  seven  miles  north  and  south ; 
Neither  corn  nor  grass  conkl  grow 
For  the  veuom  of  his  nioutb. 

G.  T. 

C2 


20  THE  DENHAM  TUACTS. 

This  is  a  verse  of  the  "  Laidley  Worm  of  Spindleston- 
Heugh  "  converted  into  a  rhyme.     The  original  verse  is — 

For  seven  miles  east,  and  seven  miles  west, 

And  seven  miles  north  and  south, 
No  blade  of  grass  or  corn  could  grow, 

So  venemous  was  her  mouth. 

AuLD  Alnwick. 

This  epithet  occurs  in  lines  inscribed  to  Thomas  Donaldson, 
called  7am  q/  Glanton,  and  affixed  to  his  poems,  p.  15.  Foems 
chiefly  in  the  Scottish  Dialect ;  both  Humorous  and  Entertaining. 
By  Thomas  Donaldson,  vreaver,  Glanton.  Alnwick,  Wm.  David- 
son, 1809. 

The  Earl  op  Northumberland's  three  Magi, 

When  he  was  prisoner  in  the  Tower  with  Sir  Walter  Raleigh. 
These  were  Thomas  Hariot,  "  a  gentleman  of  an  affable,  peaceable 
nature,  and  well-read  in  the  obscure  parts  8f  learning,"  who  had 
been  with  Sir  Walter  to  America,  and  had  been  introduced  by 
him  to  the  earl,  who  allowed  him  a  pension  of  \20l.  a-year; 
Robert  Hud  and  Walter  Warner,  two  other  mathematicians, 
whom  he  also  had  pensioned.  When  the  earl  Was  committed  to 
the  Tower  these  were  his  constant  companions,  and  were  usually 
called  Earl  of  Northumheriandh  Three  Magi.  They  had  a  table 
at  his  charge  and  did  constantly  converse  with  him  and  Sir 
Walter  Raleigh. — Hewitt's  Visit  to  Remarkable  Places,  &c. 

The  Loyal  Little  Village  of  Felton. 

This  appellation  was  bestowed  by  the  Duke  of  Cumberland 
for  the  display  of  the  zeal  of  the  inhabitants  when  he  and  his 
troops  halted  at  the  village,  28th  Jan.  1746,  on  their  march  to 
subdue  the  rebel  Highlanders  under  "  bonnie  Prince  Charlie." 


LOCAL  SAYINGS,  ETC.  21 

"  You  SHOULD  DO  AS  THE  FoLK  o'  FrAMLINGTON  DO,  THEY    HoUSE  a' 

THE  Hares  i'  the  Back  End." 

Long  Framlincrtoii  is  a  village  in  Felton  parish,  in  proximity 
to  Rimside  Moor.  The  inhabitants  were  given  to  poaching  in 
the  autumn,  and  hence  their  jocular  solicitude  for  the  well-being 
of  the  hares. 

"  The    Folk  o'   Framlington  say  that  none    but  Whores  and 
Blackguards  Marry,  Honest  Folk  take  each  other's  Word." 

This  saying  evinces  a  degraded  state  of  moral  feeling,  at  some 
period  of  that  place's  history,  which,  it  is  hoped,  has  no  exist- 
ence now. 

Piper  Allan's  Breed  of  Dogs. 

"  Crab,  the  Mugger's  dog,  grave,  with  deep-set  melancholy 
eyes,  as  of  a  nobleman  (say  the  Master  of  Ravenswood.  in  dis- 
guise), large  visaged,  shaggy,  indomitable,  came  of  the  pure 
Piper  Allan's  breed.  This  Piper  Allan,  you  must  know,  lived 
some  two  hundred  years  ago  [this  is,  of  course,  a  joke]  in 
Coquet  water,  piping,  like  Homer,  from  place  to  place,  and 
famous  not  less  for  his  dog  than  for  his  music,  his  news,  and  his 
songs.  The  Earl  of  Northumberland  of  his  day  offered  the 
piper  a  small  farm  for  his  dog,  but  after  deliberating  for  a  day, 
Allan  said,  '  Na,  na,  ma  lord,  keep  yir  ferum  ;  what  wad  a 
piper  do  wi'  a  ferum  ? '  From  this  dog  descended  Davidson  of 
Hyndlee's  breed,  the  original  Dandie  Dinmont,  and  Crab  could 
count  his  kin  up  to  him." — Dr.  John  Brown's  Horae  Subsecivaej 
2nd  S.  p.  162. 

Jemmy  Allan,  "  the  Duke's  piper,"  was  born  at  Hepple  Wood- 
house,  in  1734,  and  died  in  the  House  of  Correction  in  Durham, 
November,  13,  1810.  Living  much  on  the  Coquet  he  drew  part 
of  his  subsistence  from  it.  So  attached  was  he  to  it  that  he  com- 
posed two  tunes  in  its  honour  ;  the  one,  "  We'll  a'  to  the  Coquet 
and  woo,"  and  the  other,  '^  Saumon  Tails  up  the  water."    These 


22  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

favourite  tunes  he  always  played  with  enthusiastic  animation. — 
Maxwell's  Border  Sketches^  ii.  p.  111.  Eichardson's  7 able- 
Book,  iii.  p.  105. 

The  red  bull  of  Berrington, 

Gaed  oure  the  bills  to  HaiTington, 

And  knock'd  its  head  atween  twae  stanes, 

And  came  milk-white  back  again. 

A  children's  rhyme  of  Coquetdale  origin,  which  shows  at  .least 
the  colour  of  the  old  Northumbrian  cattle. 

A  Morpeth  Compliment. 

She  gav'  me  nout  i'  plenty  but  her  tongue, 
0'  that  a  Morpeth  compliment  she  flung. 

■ — Service's  Metrical  Legends  of  Norfhumberland,  p.  140.  Aln- 
wick, 1834.      [See  "A  Morpeth  Welcome,"  elsewhere.] 

"  The  Toon's  a'  wor  awn." 

This  is  an  old  exclusive  saying  in  Morpeth.  On  the  6tli  of 
April,  1746,  it  was  resolved  by  the  Corporation,  "That  none 
but  a  freeman  or  brother  shall  exercise  the  trade  of  a  white- 
smith, saddler,  armourer,  or  hardv/areman  within  the  borough." 
The  guild- books  contain  many  similar  resolutions  respecting 
other  trades. — Wilson's  Handbook  to  Morpeth,  pp.  90-91. 

Even  dwellers  in  towns  that  have  no  corporate  rights  have  a 
prejudice  against  strangers  settling  among  them.  In  the  small 
town  of  Wooler  parties  from  a  distance  who  marry  town's-maids 
are  called  "  foreigners."     Tliey  are  regarded  as  interlopers. 

A  Morpeth  Borderer. 

A  native  of  Morpeth,  by  lawful  calling  a  packman — a  "  needy 
adventurer  "  from  the  south — was  vending  his  goods  in  a  farm- 
house not  many  miles  from  Edinburgh,  where  an  old  eccentric 


LOCAL  SAYINGS,  ETC.  23 

man  was  wont  to  visit,  named  Saunders  Somerville.  The  mercer 
had  words  and  wares  in  abundance,  but  was  sadly  deficient  in 
the  article  of  thought.  Saunders  again  was  exactly  the  oppo- 
site ;  and  as  he  had  listened  with  exemplary  patience  for  a  long 
time,  in  the  hope  that  the  man's  stories  would  draw  to  a  close, 
he  seemed  to  enjoy  a  mental  satisfaction  in  getting  bare  time  to 
spear  (ask)  :  "  And  whar  do  ye  come  frae,  Billy?"  "From 
the  boa'der,  sir,"  answered  the  southron.  "  I  thought  sae," 
said  Saunders;  *' weel,  it's  a  pity."  "And  wherefore  is  it  a 
pity?"  said  the  man  of  words,  rather  angry.  "  Oh,"  answered 
Saunders,  "  because  we  aye  count  the  selvage  the  warst  pairt  o' 
the  wab." — The  Eev.  Dr.  Andrew  Thomson,  of  St.  George's, 
Edinburgh,  is  the  authority  for  this  depreciatory  skit  on  the 
Borders. 

Never  saw  the  World  till  he  gaed  to  Morpeth. 

When  this  was  spoken  of  one  who  knew  only  a  country  life, 
Morpeth  was  the  metropolis  of  the  cattle  trade  for  the  north  of 
England,  a  traffic  which  it  has  now  quite  lost.  It  is  even 
deprived  of  the  county  jail,  which  has  been  transferred  to 
Newcastle.  Morpeth  is  now  a  quiet  place,  and  one  hears  less 
about  it  than  any  other  town  of  equal  size  in  the  district, 
but  it  again  appears  to  thrive,  and  of  late  has  commenced 
to  extend  and  embellish  its  public  buildings  and  streets. 

Fenwick  Shield  (Parish  of  Stamfordham). 

A  calf,  with  two  heads,  uttered  the  following  words  when 
born,  and  died  immediately  after :  they  relate  to  Fenwick 
Shield  :— 

Twice  burnt,  once  sunk, 

And  never  more  seen. 

The  popular  belief  is  that  the  house  is  sinking.  Some  years 
ago  part  of  the  kitchen  fire-place  is  said  to  have  sunk  a  few 


24  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

inches.  This  I  can  easily  believe,  for  on  the  south  side  of  the 
house  there  was  a  large  decoy  for  wild  fowl ;  after  the  water 
was  let  off,  and  the  land  drained,  it  is  very  possible  that  the 
soil  would  settle  down,  and  cause  a  shrink  in  the  building. — 
Rev.  J.  F.  Bigge  on  Local  Superstitions  at  Stamfordham,  Tyne- 
side  Nat.  Field  Club,  1861,  p.  95. 

The  Captain's  Walk. 

The  Captain's  Walk  is  a  footpath  from  the  Heugh  bridge, 
going  eastward  along  the  Pont  side — or  side  of  the  river  Pont: 
a  lady  with  a  baby  in  her  arms  walks  there  and  sings — 

Hush  a  bah,  baby, 
Hush  a  bah  bee. 
'Twas  Captain  Walter 
That  killed  thou  and  me. 

lb.  p.  95. 

The  son  of  Fair  Mabel  of  Wallington  hunted  on  a  mare  that 
was  never  foaled,  and  with  a  pack  of  hounds  that  were  never 
whelpit. 

Like  himself,  they  were  introduced  into  the  world  by  the 
Caesarian  operation.  I  had  the  tradition  from  one  born  in  the 
vicinity. 

"  Fair  Mabel"  was  bui-ied  in  Hexham  Abbey ;  the  date  appears 
to  be  1539  (Hewitt's  Handbook  to  Hexham  Abbey  Church,  p. 
103).  There  are  modern  verses  with  the  title  in  Richardson's 
Table  Booh,  Legendary  Division  ;  originally  from  Bell's  Rhymes 
of  Northern  Bards,  pp.  147 — 149,  Newcastle,  1812. 

The  Coal-Hole  of  the  North,  i.e.  Newcastle. 
Hewitt's  Visit  to  Remarkable  Places,  p.  310. 

"  The  Kichmokd  Shilling." 

An  obnoxious  tax  on  the  coals  of  the  river  Tyne. —  Table 
Book,  iv.  p.  82. 


LOCAL  SAYINGS,  ETC.  25 

The  Spring  Fleet 
Of  collier  vessels  from  the  Tyne. 

Geordie  and  Jamie. 

Mariners  term  a  collier  vessel  from  the  Tyne  a  Geordie,  and 
from  the  Wear  a  Jamie.  At  sea  they  can  distinguish  the  one 
from  the  other  by  the  different  colours  of  their  bows,  sides 
sterns,  &c. — Padeutes,  in  Hogg's  Instructor,  ii.  p.  316.  See 
afterwards,  pp.  70,  71. 

The  Grand  Allies. 

The  "  Grand  Allies  "  were  a  company  of  gentlemen,  consist- 
ing of  Sir  TJiomas  Liddell  (afterwards  Lord  Ravensworth),  the 
Earl  of  StratLmore,  and  Mr.  Stuart  Wortley  (afterwards  Lord 
Wharncliffe) ,  the  lessees  of  Killingworth  Collieries. — Smiles's 
Life  of  George  Stephenson,  p.  55. 

Oh,  horrid  deed, 

To  kill  a  man  for  a  pig's  head. 

This  Tynemouth  saying  and  legend  is  omitted  by  Mr. 
Denham.  There  is  a  full  notice  of  it  in  Richardson's  Table 
Booh.  The  stone  on  which  it  was  inscribed  is  supposed  to 
have  been  one  of  the  slabs  erected  to  indicate  the  boundaries  of 
the  sanctuary. 

The  Betsy  Cains. 

Feb.  17,  1827.— The  Betsy  Cains,  of  Shields,  having  sailed 
from  that  port  with  a  cargo  for  Hambro',  met  with  a  heavy 
gale,  and  was  obliged  to  bear  up  for  Shields  Harbour,  but 
when  on  Tynemouth  bar  she  struck,  and  was  afterwards 
driven  upon  the  rocks,  near  the  Spanish  battery.  This  remark- 
able vessel  would  seem  to  have  been  built  about  the  commence- 
ment of  the  seventeenth  century,  for,  before  its  conclusion,  tradi- 


2Q  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

tion  reported  that  even  then  she  was  "  an  old  ship,  but  a  lucky 
and  fast  sailer."  Before  the  1  st  of  March  she  went  to  pieces.  In 
this  forlorn  and  melancholy  condition  she  presented  an  apt 
emblem  of  fallen  greatness,  and  exacted  great  public  attention  ; 
indeed,  at  all  times  she  was  regarded  with  surprising  interest, 
and  wherever  she  lay  the  sailors  crowded  to  see  her — the  more 
so,  probably,  from  a  memorable  prophecy  said  to  be  connected 
with  the  fate  of  this  venerable  ship,  viz.,  that  **'  the  Catholics 
would  never  get  the  better  while  the  Betsey  Cains  was  afloat," 
and  now  that  her  hour  was  come,  can  our  hardy  mariners,  as 
remarkable  for  their  superstition,  be  wondered  at,  when  they 
regarded  the  loss  of  the  Betsy  Cains  as  a  serious  injury  to  the 
Protestant  cause? — Richardson's  Table  Book,  iii.  pp.  339-341. 

OviNGHAM  Fair. 

Ovingham  Fair  is  on  the  26th  of  Apx'd  and  25th  of  October. 
The  day  after  the  October  fair  is  called  "  Gwonny  Jokesane's 
day"  (why  so  is  not  known),  and  has  been  so  called  since  the 
recollection  of  the  oldest  living.  A  mayor  is  elected,  and 
carried  in  procession.  On  his  advancing,  his  M'orship  begins 
thus  :  ''A  yes  !  twe  times  a  yes  !  an'  three  times  a  yes  !  If 
ony  man,  or  ony  man's  man,  lairds,  loons,  lubberdoons,  dog- 
skelpers,  gabbrigate  swingers,  shall  commit  a  parliament  as 
a  twarliament,  we,  in  the  township  o'  Ovingham,  shall  hev  his 
legs,  an  heed,  tied  to  the  cog-wheel,  till  he  say  yonce,  twice, 
thrice  prosper  the  fair  o'  Ovingham,  on  Gwonny  Jokesane's 
day." — Jackson  the  Painter,  in  Hone's  Every  Day  Book,  and 
see  Table  Book,  Leg.  Div.  iii.  p.  198,  &c. 

I've  been  as  far  south  as  ye've  been  north. — A  Wooler  saying. 

Canny  Northumberland. 

The  phrase  occurs  in  Chronicles  of  the  Canongate,  1st  S.  li. 
p.  206. 


LOCAL  SAYINGS,  ETC.  27 


The  Bold  Borderers. 

And  bad  him  call  the  borderers  bold, 
And  hold  with  him  in  readiness. 

Battle  of  Flodden,  p.  6. 

The  Stout  Northumbrians. 

"  And  if  thou  need  Northumberland," 

Quoth  he,  "  there  be  strong  men  and  stout, 

That  will  not  stick,  if  need  they  stand. 
To  fight  on  horseback,  or  on  foot." 

lb.  p.  4. 

At  the  battle  among  the  broom  at  Millfield,  1513,  Sir  Wil- 
liam Bulwer 

"  Two  hundred  men  himself  did  lead. 
To  him  there  came  the  borderers  stout." 

lb.  p.  19. 

"  Formerly,  the  NorthumberIan(l  Militia  was,  to  a  great 
extent,  formed  of  the  peasantry  who  lived  in  the  open  country ; 
and  at  the  termination  of  the  war  in  1815  it  was  one  of  the 
finest  bodies  of  men  in  the  service,  and,  when  ranged  in  line, 
stood  on  more  ground,  from  the  breadth  of  the  men  across  the 
shoulders,  than  any  other  regiment." — Mr.  George  Tate,  in 
Berwickshire  Naturalists'  CluVs  Proceedings,  vii.  p.  135. 

Border  Marriages. 

"  The  borderers  were  very  particular  in  forming  connections. 
A  stout  man  would  not  marry  a  little  woman,  were  she  ever  so 
rich ;  and  an  Englishman  was  prohibited  by  the  March  laws 
from  marrying  a  Scotch  woman,  were  she  ever  so  honest." — 
Dalyell's  Fragments. 

Manly  strength  is  prized  among  the  Northumbrian  shepherd 
families  at  the  present  day.     In  the  district  between  the  Cheviot 


28  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

Hill  and  the  head  of  the  Coquet,  a  young  man  was,  not  a  great 
many  years  since,  courting  a  lass  named  Hedley,  whom  he 
wished  to  marry.  "  Let  him  in  among  us,"  said  the  mother, 
when  the  proposal  came  to  be  deliberated,  "he's  a  grand 
fighter." 

The  Northumbriak's  Burr. 

*  *  *  *  The  Northumbrian  dialect  is  a  sort  of  mixture  of 
Lowland  Scotch  and  north-country  English,  pervaded  by  the 
strong  hurr  peculiar  to  Northumberland.  It  is  related  of  a 
Scotch  lass  who  took  service  in  Newcastle,  that  when  asked  how 
she  got  on  with  the  language,  replied,  she  managed  it  very  well 
by  "  swallowing  the  r's,  and  gien  them  a  bit  chow  i*  the  middle." 
—  Smiles's  Life  of  George  Stephenson,  p.  3. 

I  note  as  other  references  to  the  Northumberland  burr,  Hogg's 
Instructor,  2nd  S.  ii.  p.  142  ;  and  Scots  Mag.  1804,  pp.  179,  180, 
181;  and  1802,  pp.  959,  960. 

English  Koguks. 

It  is  not  above  seventy  years  since  a  Scottish  borderer,  who 
had  left  the  fair  at  Wooler  in  company  of  an  Englishman,  and 
shaken  hands  at  parting,  felt  indignant  with  himself  for  having 
travelled  in  peace  with  ^  false  Southron.     He  therefore  returned, 

and  saying,   "  Take  that,  you English  rogue,"  struck  his 

late  companion  to  the  ground,  and  walked  triumphantly  away. 
— Mason's  Kelso  Records,  p.  112, 

Anglicus  est  angelus,  cui  nemo  credere  potest  ; 
Cum  tibi  dicit  ave,  tanquam  ab  hoste  cave. 

Forduni  Scotichron.  i.  p.  22,  and  ii.  309. 

'•'  Away,  lubbard ;  away  blewcoit ;  I  defye  the  whyte  cott ; 
dyrt  upon  your  teeth,"     This  was  a  reproach  cast  out  by  the 


LOCAL  SAYINGS,  ETC.  29 

besieged  against  the  English  soldiers,  at  the  siege  of  Edinburgh, 
March  1,  1571. — See  Bannatyne's  Transactions  in  Scotland, 
p.  99. 

The  English  soldiers  had  blue  dresses. — See  Stow. 

"  England  is  our  auld  enemies." — Bannatyne,  p.  168. 

This  was  a  common  expression  at  that  period  by  party  writers. 

The  ViLii  Death  of  the  Englishmen. 

A  great  pestilence  visited  England  from  1348  to  1357.  It 
began  in  Loudon,  about  the  feast  of  All  Saints,  1348.  "  Of  the 
common  people,  together  with  Religious  and  Clearkes,  there 
dyed  an  innumerable  sort,  for  no  man  but  God  onely  knew  how 
many.  What  time  the  pestilence  had  wasted  all  England,  the 
Scots  greatly  rejoycing,  mocked  and  sware  of  times  by  the  vile 
death  of  the  Englishmen ;  but  the  sword  of  God's  wrath  slew 
and  consumed  Scots  in  no  lesse  numbers  then  it  did  the  other." 
— Stow's  Annales,  p.  246.  This  plague  having  reached  the 
borders  in  1349,  caused  the  Scots  to  suspend  their  animosity. 
Even  in  1368  many  tenements  In  the  north  of  England  lay 
waste,  owing  to  this  great  calamity  and  the  Invasion  of  the 
Scots,  as  appears  by  Inquisitions. 

Traitor  Scots. 

When  the  Scots  delivered  up  Charles  I.  to  the  Parliament  for 
payment  of  their  arrears,  "  the  English  nation  reproached  them 
with  tlieir  greed  and  treachery  In  the  popular  rhyme  " — 

Traitor  Scot 

Sold  his  king  for  a  groat. 
Scott's  Tales  of  a  Grandfather,  2nd  S.  i.  p.  319. 

Poor  Scot 

Seil'd  thy  king  for  a  groat. 

Scots  Mag.  1806,  p.  936. 


30  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

Tynedale  Snatchers. 

Full  oft  the  Tynedale  snatchers  knock 
At  his  lone  gate  and  prove  the  lock. 

Lay  of  the  Last  Minstrel. 

The  little  Devil  should  be  first  exposed  to  the  great  Devil. 

Siward  (of  Danish  origin)  was  promoted  to  the  Earldom  of 
Northumberland  by  Edward  the  Confessor,  on  the  advice  of  his 
great  men,  that,  for  the  better  protection  of  his  kingdom  against 
the  northern  invaders,  the  little  devil  should  he  first  exposed  to  the 
great  devil;  meaning  that  Siward.  should  have  charge  of  that 
part  of  England  which  was  most  likely  first  to  be  invaded  by 
the  Danes. — Kidpath's  Bord.  Hist.  p.  54. 

Chevy  Chase. 

Before  the  gates  of  Newcastle  the  famous  Hotspur  was  un- 
horsed by  the  gallant  Douglas,  and  also  lost  his  "  staffe."  The 
spear  and  pennon  of  Percy  were  carried  by  Montgomery,  his 
captor  at  Otterburn,  to  Eglinton  Castle,  and  when  a  late  duke 
asked  their  restoration  the  Earl  of  Eglinton  replied,  "  There  is 
as  good  lea-ground  here  as  on  Chevy  Chase — let  Percy  come 
and  take  them." — Jeffrey's  Roxburghshire^  ii.  p.  239. 

''  As  long  as  Chevy  Chase  "  is  a  popular  expression  in  Ber- 
wickshire for  a  tedious  song. 

Widdrington  and  his  Stumps. 

Master  Linklater  says  to  Master  Kilderkin,  who  had  not  been 
sufficiently  active  in  catering  provisions  for  royalty,  ''  Do  not 
tell  me  of  the  carrier  and  his  wain,  and  the  hen-coops  coming 
from  Norfolk  with  the  poultry ;  a  loyal  man  would  have  sent  an 
express-^ho  would  have  gone  upon  his  stumps  like  Widdrington." 
— Fortunes  of  Nigel^  iii.  p.  72. 


LOCAL  SAYINGS,  ETC.  .31 

Till  down  he  fell,  yet  falling  fought, 
And,  being  down,  still  laid  about ; 
As  Widdrington,  in  doleful  dumps, 
Is  said  to  fight  upon  his  stumps. 

Hudibras. 

The  reference  in  both  is  to  the  modern  version  of  the  ballad 
of  Chevy  Chase — 

For  Witherington  needs  must  I  wayle, 

As  one  in  doleful  dumps  ; 
For  when  his  leggs  were  smitten  off, 

He  fought  upon  his  stumps. 

The  older  version  is  much  finer. 

COUPLAKD,  THE  VALIANT  KnIGHT. 

The  first  person  whom  Edward  III.  made  Sheriff  of  Rox- 
burgh was  the  celebrated  [Sir  John]  Coupland,  who  took 
David  II.  prisoner  at  the  battle  of  Durham.  He  was  sheriff  in 
1347.  Coupland  held  the  sheriffship  in  Northumberland  from 
1350  to  1355.  Coupland  was  celebrated  among  the  men  of 
Northumberland  as  the  Valiant  Knight.  He  died  in  1364,  when 
Alan  de  Strother  was  appointed  in  his  stead.  Jeffrey's  Rox- 
burghshire, ii.  pp.  14  and  16  ;  Wallis's  Hist.  Northumberland, 
pp.  415,  416;  Ayloffe's  Calendar,  p.  108;  Chalmer's  Caledonia, 
ii.  p.  97,  note. 

The  Tek  Towns  of  Glendale. 

In  August  5,  1557,  the  lord  James,  and  the  lord  Robert, 
the  lord  Home,  warden  of  the  east  marches,  and  several  other 
nobles,  with  a  considerable  force,  and  some  ordnance,  entered 
Northumberland  by  the  dry  marsh  between  Wark  and  Cheviot, 
intending  to  take  the  castle  of  Ford  and  destroy  the  ten  towns 
of  Glendale. — Ridpath's  Bord.  Hist.  p.  586. 


32  THE  DENHAM  TKACTS. 

Flodden  Edge. 

"  We  were  tauld,"  says  Sir  Mungo  Malagrowther,  an  old 
Scottish  attendant  of  the  Court  of  James  I.,  "  the  loon  threw 
himself  mto  the  Thames  in  a  fit  of  desperation.  There's  enow 
of  them  behind — there  was  mair  tint  on  Flodden  Edge." — For- 
tunes of  Nigel,  ii.  p.  76.  This  is  equivalent  to  "mair  fell  at 
Sheriflf-rauir." 

The  Busy  Week. 

While  James  I. — "  gentle  Jamie  " — was  progressing  south, 
the  borderers,  disliking  idleness  "  when  the  Queen's  death  was 
knowne,"  commenced  operations  on  both  sides,  "the  which  was 
called  the  busie  week."  Lord  Hume  received  instructions  to 
repress  them,  and  he  appears  to  have  made  an  excellent  selec- 
tion in  appointing  "  Lord  Cranstone  to  bee  captayne  of  the 
guard ;  who  did  so  much  by  his  care  and  vigilance  that  a  num- 
ber of  outlawes  were  brought  to  the  place  of  execution,  where, 
after  lawful  assize,  they  had  a  reward  of  their  past  follies. 
Their  names  and  surnames,"  quoth  John  Monipennie,  "  for 
brevity  we  omit.  Some  of  them  who  might  have  lived  upon 
their  rente,  if  so  they  could  bee  content,  but  so  prone  were 
they  to  inbred  vyse,  received  from  their  forefathers,  and 
drunken  in  their  adolescencie,  they  never  leaft  oflF  their  first 
footsteps  until  they  runne  headlong  to  their  owne  destruction." 
— {SummariBj  ^-c.  printed  at  Brittaine's  Burse,  by  John  Bridge, 
1612.)     Maxwell's  Hillside  and  Border  JSketches,  i.  pp.  213-214. 

The  Foul  Eaid  ;  i.e.,  The  Dishonourable  Eaid. 

The  inroad  of  Albany  into  England  in  1417,  when  he  Avas 
compelled  to  retire  before  the  forces  of  the  Dukes  of  Exeter  and 
Bedford. — Scott's  Scotland,  i.  p.  251.  See  Pinkerton's  Hiift. 
Scot.  i.  p.  98. 


LOCAL  SAYINGS,  ETC.  33 

Thk  Dirtin  Raid.  _^ 

Another  successless  expedition  of  the  governor  in  1422. — See 
Ridpath,  Bord.  Hist.  p.  388. 

The  Devil's  Road — The  III  Rode. 

The  name  given  by  the  Scots  to  the  raid  of  1513,  when 
defeated  among  the  broom  of  Milfield  Plain. 

In  August  month  this  broil  befell, 
Wherein  the  Scots  lost  so  much  blood 

That  mournfull  when  the  tale  they  tell. 
They  call  it  now  "  The  Devil's  Road." 

Flodden  Field,  p.  21. 

In  this  incursion,  defeated  by  Sir  Edward  Bulmer,  Lord 
Hume  lost  500  or  600  of  his  men,  400  prisoners,  and  his 
banner.  '^  This  by  the  Scots  was  called  the  III  Rode.''^ — Baker's 
Chronicle,  p.  260.  Modern  writers,  unwitting  of  the  significa- 
tion of  the  word  rode^  road,  or  raid,  explain  it  as  applied  to  the 
road  through  Milfield  Plain  by  which  the  Scots  fled  from  their 
ill-fated  enterprise. 

In  one  place  of  his  Annales,  p.  432,  Stow  makes  what  on  this 
mistaken  signification  would  be  rather  a  serious  undertaking, 
viz.,  that  King  James  "  caused  his  subjects  to  make  roades  into 
English  borders." 


"  A  Warden  Raid,"  or  "  Day  op  Trewes,"  on  the  Border. 
Darcy's  Good  Fortune. 

In  October,  1532,  Henry  VIII.  sent  Sir  Arthur  Darcy  to 
Berwick  with  300  tall  men  for  the  defence  of  the  English 
border.  The  Scots  soon  after  Darcy's  arrival,  to  show  that 
they  were  not  afraid  of  him,  made  an  inroad  by  the  Middle 
Marches  as  far  as   Fowberry;    in    which   inroad   they  burnt 

P 


34  THE  DENHAM  TKACTS. 

several  villages.  Not  content  with  doing  this  mischief  thej 
boasted  of  it,  saying  that  Darcy  had  brought  them  good  fortune, 
and  that  he  and  Angus  slept  icell  at  Berwick. — llidpath's  Bord. 
Hist.  p.  532. 

Hadaway. 

This,  says  Wm.  Brockie,  is  a  Northumbrian  name,  from  Had 
away !  a  term  of  encouragement  used  by  the  clan  in  their  forays 
or  raids. — FclTcs  of  Shields,  p.  67. 

The  Northumberland  Tartan. 
The  check  of  the  cloth  of  shepherds'  plaids  is  so  called. 

Northumbrian  Tunes  or  Songs  that  relate  to  Places,  &c. 

"  Chevy-Chase." 

"  Sir  John  Fenwick's  the  Flower  among  them." — Richard- 
son's Table  Book,  i.  p.  334. 

*'  Fenwick  of  Bywell's  away  to  Newmarket." 

"  Show  me  the  way  to  Wallington." 

"  Dorrington  Lads  yet." 

"  Felton  Lonning." — Farrier's  Poems,  p.  101  ;  seeMhT/mes  on 
Felton  Lonning. 

"  The  Midford  Galloway."  By  Thomas  Whittle.  "  To  the 
tune  of  Banting  Roaring  Willy." — Bell's  Rhymes  of  Northern 
Bards,  pp.  175—180. 

"  Wylam  away."  John  Jackson,  the  engraver,  mentions 
this  in  his  account  of  Ovingham  fair. 

"  We'll  a'  to  the  Coquet  an'  woo." 

Names  of  Local  Regiments. 

''  The  White  Stocking  Regiment."  A  number  of  volunteers 
in  Newcastle,  in  1740,  who  associated  for  the  preservation  of 
the  peace  of  the  town.  "  They  consisted  of  some  middle-aged 
gentlemen  of  different  professions,  but  the  most  part  of  young 


LOCAL  SAYINGS,  ETC.  35 

men,  several  of  whom  were  merchants'  apprentices,  and  on 
account  of  their  wearing  white  stockings  were  called  and  are 
still  remembered  by  the  name  of  the  White  Stocking  Regiment. 
— ^Richardson's  Table  Booh,  i.  p.  400. 

'*  The  Cheviot  Legion."  A  body  of  volunteers,  whose  capital 
was  Wooler.  At  the  time  of  the  "  False  Alarm  "  these  were 
marched  as  far  as  Whittingham. 

"  Tlie  Coquetdale  Rangers "  were  raised  in  the  vale  of  the 
Coquet. 

"  The  Durham  Rangers."  All  that  I  know  of  this  is  that 
there  was  a  dancing  tune  of  this  name,  and  the  only  words 
sung  to  it  were — 

"  He's  away  wi'  the  bonnie  Durham  Rangers,  0  ! " 

Northumbrian  Productions. 
Newcastle  coals ;  Tweed  and  Tyne  salmon  ;  Hexham  glovers, 
Hexham  gloves,  and  Hexham  tans  (strong  gloves  of  fine 
leather)  ;  Cheviot  sheep  ;  Cheviot  honey ;  Alnwick  tobacco  ; 
Scremerston  lime ;  Budle  cockles ;  Boulmer  or  Boomer  gin ; 
Glanton  greens,  a  particularly  good  kind  of  gooseberry ;  Bed- 
lington  terriers. 

Natural  Objects. 

"  St.  Cuthbert's  Ducks  "  [Somateria  mollisima),  which  breed 
on  the  Fame  Islands,  are  so  called  from  St.  Cuthbert,  their 
patron ;  in  Berwickshire  they  are  still  called  "  Cud-doos,"  i.e. 
Cuthbert's  pigeons.  "  St.  Cuthbert's  Beads "  are  fragments 
of  fossil  encrinites,  &c.  "  Askew's  Ducks,"  or  "  Pallinsburn 
Ducks,"  are  the  black-headed  gulls  {Larus  ridihundus)  which 
breed  in  Mr.  Askew's  lake,  in  front  of  his  residence  at  Pallins- 
burn. "Scremerston  Crows"  are  the  grey- backed  or  hoodie 
crow  {Corvus  comix),  because  they  frequent  the  coast  there- 
abouts in  winter  and  spring. 

J>2 


36  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

"  New  Chape]  Flower  "  {Orobanche  ma  jus  ?)  "  Orohanche, 
Chokewede,  growetli  in  many  places  in  England,  both  in  the 
northe  countre  besyde  Morpethe,  whereas  it  is  called  our  Lady 
of  New  Chapellis  flour,  and  also  in  the  south  countre,  a  lytle 
from  Shene,  in  the  broom-closes."  "  This  herbe  is  called  about 
Morpeth,  in  Northumberland,  new-chappell  floure,  because  it 
grew  in  a  chappel  there,  in  a  place  called  Bottel  (Bothal) 
Bankes,  where  as  the  unlearned  people  dyd  worshippe  the 
Image  of  synt  Mary,  and  reckened  that  the  herbe  grewe  in  that 
place  by  the  virtue  of  that  Image." — Turner's  Herbal,  1564, 
1566.     Part  ii.  fol.  71 ;  Part  i.  fol.  88. 

"  Framlington  Clover"  {Prunella  vulgaris),  prevalent  in 
stiff  clayey  soils  above  the  coal,  near  Long  Framlington, 
Northumberland.  About  Hauxley,  in  the  same  county,  it  is 
termed  "  Jamie  Hedley's  Clover,"  from  the  following  circum- 
stance:— Hedley's  father  wanted  to  take  a  farm  then  vacant, 
but  being  blind  sent  out  his  son  Jamie  to  report  on  its  capa- 
bilities. Jamie  remarked  one  field  in  particular  very  green 
and  closely  planted  with  herbage,  and  returning  to  his  father 
says,  "  Feyther,  yon's  grand  land  ;  it's  grown  full  o'  clover.'^ 
The  "  clover  "  was  the  weed,  indicative  of  sterility.  In  Ber- 
wickshire it  is  known  as  ^'  Poverty  Pink." 

Lang  Lowick. 

The  epithet  lang  is  applied  to  this  scattered  village,  which  is 
situated  on  a  ridge,  and  at  a  distance  appears  to  be  unnaturally 
prolonged.  There  are,  or  have  been,  other  lengthy  hamlets  or 
steadings  in  Northumberland,  e.  g.  Long  Edlingham,  Long 
Horsley,  Long  Framlington,  Long  Benton,  Longhirst,  Langton, 
Longridge,  Langshaws,  Langlee,  Langleyford,  Langley,  Lang- 
dike-head,  Langdikes,  etc. 


LOCAL  SAYINGS,  ETC.  37 


A  COQUETDALE  MaN  AND  A  ReDESDALE  MaN. 

Speaking  of  the  laziness  of  the  Coquetdale  "  hinds  "  (plough- 
men) it  was  said — You  may  know  a  Coquetdale  man  and  a 
Redesdale  man  by  their  conduct  in  this  respect,  that  the  Coquet- 
dale man  sits  on  the  top  of  his  loaded  cart,  but  the  Redesdale 
man  walks  alongside  of  it. 

The  Cubs  of  Lorbottle. 

They  got  a  weather-glass,  and  seeing  the  mercury  fall,  they 
hid  it,  and  put  out  tubs  to  see  if  it  was  raining,  as  they  could 
not  decide  otherwise. 

The  Wheat-stack  of  Biddleston. 

Every  wheat-head  had  a  craver,  like  the  wheat-stack  of 
Biddleston. 


38  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 


II. 


A  COLLECTION  OF  EARE  AND  POPULAR  RHYMES, 
PROVERBS,  SAYINGS  OF  REPROACH  AND  PRAISE, 
&c.,  &c.,  RELATING  TO  THE  CITY  OF  DURHAM  AND 
ITS  INHABITANTS. 

"  Brave  Durham  I  behold,  that  stately  seated  town." 

Drayton. 

'Tis  certain  that  the  Dun  Cow's  milk 
Clothes  all  the  Prebends'  wives  in  silk  ; 
But  this,  indeed,  is  plain  to  me. 
The  Dun  Cow's  self  is  a  shame  to  see. 

The  lec^end  of  the  Dun  Cow,  in  connection  with  our  citv,  must 
be  familiar  to  every  inhabitant  of  the  bishoprick. 

The  old  sculpture  of  the  Dun  Cow  and  the  two  females  was 
truly  a  sorry  affair,  and,  as  the  rhyme  sings  or  says,  "  a  shame 
to  see";  yet  no  more  so  than  the  rude  rhymes  of  the  critic. 
Sir  Cuthbert  Sharp,  in  his  Bishoprick  Garland,  says  that  these 
lines  are  ancient ;  but  the  mention  of  the  prebends'  wives  tells 
me  that  it  cannot  be  older  than  three  centuries ;  probably 
nothing  near  so  much.  The  original  figures  were  erected 
during  the  episcopacy  of  Ralph  Flambard,  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  twelfth  century,  in  grateful  remembrance  and  com- 
memoration of  the  milkmaid,  who  so  fortunately,  in  the  great 
perplexity  of  the  wandering  monks,  directed  them  to  Dunholme, 
where  St.  Cuthbert  was  to  rest  until  the  day  of  resurrection. 
The  present  sculpture,  which  ornaments  the  west  corner  tower 
of  the  eastern  transept  of  Durham  cathedral  church,  Avas 
chiselled  by  John  Purday,  a  mason  living  in  the  South  Bailey. 


POPULAR  EHTMES,  ETC.,  EELATING  TO  DUEHAM.  39 

I  AM  THE  Bishop  op  Durham's  Fool  :  Pray  whose  Fool  are  you  ? 

During  the  abode  of  King  Charles  I.  in  the  Castle  of  Durham 
(mdclxiii)  Dicky  Pearson,  the  bishop's  fool  (and  the  last  indi- 
vidual, it  is  supposed,  v;ho  was  maintained  by  our  bishops  in 
that  capacity) ,  seeing  the  Earl  of  Pembroke  richly  and  fantas- 
tically dressed,  accosted  him  very  brotherly,  "  Sir,  I  am  the 
bishop  of  Durham's  fool.     Whose  fool  are  you  ?" 

A  tradition  is  still  current  that  one  of  the  splendid  robes 
which  King  Charles  wore  at  the  abbey  was  embroidered  with 
the  history  of  David,  bearing  in  his  hand  Goliath's  head. — 
Surtees's  Hist,  of  Durham. 

Too  DEAR  FOR  THE  BiSHOP  OF  DuRHAM, 

It  would  appear  from  the  above  that  the  bishops  of  Durham 
have  been  proverbial  for  their  riches  from  a  very  early  period. 
In  the  thirteenth  century  a  piece  of  cloth,  richly  embroidered,  Avas 
offered  for  sale,  but  was  held  up  at  so  high  a  price  that  even  the 
nobles  themselves  either  refused  or  durst  not  buy.  This  coming 
to  the  ears  of  Anthony  Bek,  then  bishop  of  Durham,  he  went 
immediately  and  purchased  it,  and  ordered  that  it  should  be 
cut  into  cloths  for  his  sumpter-horses.  It  is  likewise  recorded 
that  at  one  time  in  London  our  bishop  gave  xl  s.  for  forty  fresh 
herrings. 

Thomas  Ruthal,  who  was  bishop  of  Durham  in  the  reigns  of 
Henry  VII.  and  VIII.,  was  considered  the  richest  subject  in 
Britain,  and  singularly  unfortunate  in  the  mistake  he  made  in 
delivering  the  hohe  of  his  own  private  affairs  to  the  aspiring 
Cardinal  Wolsey,  instead  of  the  one  he  had  written  on  The  State 
of  the  Kingdom,  by  the  desire  of  his  Sovereign,  whereby  the 
Cardinal  effected  his  ruin,  and  stepped  into  his  bishoprick. 

As  Peppery  as  Durham  Mustard. 

A  proverbial  saying  extremely  applicable  to  persons  of  hot 
temperament,  especially  those  of  the  feminine  gender. 


40  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

The  cathedral  church  of  Durham  is  dedicated  to  St.  Cuthbert, 
and  that  of  York  to  St.  Peter. 

Stowpe,  Cuddle,  and  bowe  thy  brie, 

To  Peeres  of  Yorke  our  Legate  borne ; 

Look  well  a  bout,  and  take  good  e'e, 
Lest  now  tliy  cause  be  quite  forlorne  ; 

Stowpe,  good  Cuddie,  and  bowe  thy  knee. 

Lest  thunderbolts  beginne  to  flee. 

These  verses  are  said  to  have  been  made  by  "  a  learned  and 
pleasaunt  poet,  aboute  the  yeer  of  our  Lorde  mcccx,  or  there- 
abouts, when  the  see  of  Yorke  beganne  to  arme  themselves 
against  the  church  of  Durham,  with  power  legatle." — Mickle- 
toii's  MSS  i.  p.  315. 

In  the  year  MCCXCiii,  or  iiii,  the  archbishop  of  York  was 
committed  to  the  Tower  for  his  contempt  of  the  king  in  ex- 
communicating the  bailiff  of  the  bishop  of  Durham. 

A  BuTTERBY  Church-goer. 

To  hear  many  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  of  Durham  talk, 
a  stranger  would  suppose  that  the  hamlet  of  Butterby  was  in 
possession  of  a  bond  fide  religious  edifice  ;  the  fact  is,  that  in  the 
slang  of  Durham  (for  the  modern  Zion  has  its  slang  as  well  as 
the  modern  Babylon)  a  Butterby  church-goer  is  one  who  does 
not  frequent  any  clmrcli  at  all ;  and  when  such  an  one  is  asked, 
"  What  church  have  you  attended  to-day  ?"  the  customary 
answer  is,  "  I  have  been  attending  service  at  Butterby." — See 
Hone's  Table  Book,  i.  col.  368-9. 

The  Golden  Prebends  op  Durham. 

So  called  owing  to  the  extreme  richness  or  value  of  the 
yearly  income  arising  from  the  lands  attached  to  many  of  the 
stalls  in  that  cathedral  church. 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  DURHAM.  41 

Run  away  Doctor  Bokanki  [or  Bocanki]. 

The  civil  broils  which  filled  England  with  distraction  under 
the  reign  of  Charles  I.  greatly  affected  this  Palatinate.  A 
war  with  Scotland  took  place,  and  its  army  entered  England 
on  the  xxth  of  August,  mdcxl,  and  marched  to  Newburn,  on 
the  banlvs  of  the  Tyne.  A  skirmish  ensued,  for  it  could  not  be 
called  a  battle,  and  the  Scots  army  gained  the  pass.  A  panic 
seized  the  whole  country.  As  for  the  city  of  Durham,  it 
became  a  depopulated  place ;  not  a  shop,  for  iv  days  after  the 
fight  took  place,  was  opened,  and  not  one  house  in  ten  that  had 
either  man,  woman,  or  child  in  it ;  not  one  bit  of  bread  to  be 
got  for  money ;  the  country  people  durst  not  come  to  market, 
which  made  the  city  in  a  sad  condition  for  want  of  bread.  Dr. 
Walter  Balcanqual,  dean  of  Durham,  fled  away  with  extreme 
precipitation,  because  he  understood  the  Scots  gave  out  that 
tliey  would  seize  upon  him  as  an  incendiary  for  writing  the 
king's  Large  Declaration  against  them.  All  the  rest  of  the 
clergy  of  Durham  ran  away  also. 

Bokanki,  it  would  appear,  was  a  by-name  applied  to  our 
dean  during  his  life.  The  saying  is  now  used  by  the  school- 
boys and  young  collegians  of  Durham  to  any  of  their  mates  and 
chums  who  are  guilty  of  a  mean  or  cowardly  act. — Surtees's 
Hist,  of  Durham^  i.  p.  xcvi. 

*  The  monks  of  Durham  made  fat  kail 
On  Fridays  when  they  fasted, 
&c.         &c.         &c. 

In  this  particular  the  Benedictines  of  Durham  would  not  be 
singular;  it  might  also  be  said,  no  doubt  with  equal  truth,  of 
the  monks  of  Finchale,  Wearmouth,  Jarrow,  Lindisfarne,  and 

*  In  the  original  these  and  the  other  rhymes  are  in  small  capitals. 


42  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

every  other  well-endowed  religious  house  in  the  kingdom ;  and 
who  could  blame  them  ?  Not  I,  truly,  for  there  is  much  truth 
contained  in  the  good  old  northern  proverb — 

A  tume  [that  is,  empty]  belly  makes  a  lazy  back. 

Sir  Walter  Scott  gives  the  following  stanza  as  the  old  words 
of  "  Galashiels,"  a  favourite  Scottish  air  : — 

0  the  Monks  of  Melrose  *  made  good  kale 

On  Fridays  when  they  fasted  ; 
They  wanted  neither  beef  nor  ale 

As  long  as  their  neighbours'  lasted. 

See  Chambers'  Pop.  Rhymes  Scot.  3rd  ed.  1847,  p.  42  (edition 
1870,  p.  244);  also  Allan  Kamsay's  Evergreen,  Edin.  1761, 
ii.  p.  239. 

York  has  the  Highest  Eaok,  but  Durham  has  the  Deepest 

Manger. 

Though  York  be  graced  with  a  higher  honour,  Durham  is 
the  wealthier  see.  Tobias  Matthew  is  reported  to  have  said,  on 
his  resigning  Durham  for  York,  that  he  did  it  "  for  lack  of 
grace."  In  the  sixteenth  century  pun  and  quibble  were  in  high 
esteem,  and  a  man  was  to  expect  no  preferment,  either  in 
Church  or  State,  who  was  not  a  proficient  in  that  kind  of  wit. 
"  I  like  the  crazy  old  bishop's  '  nolo  episcopari '  on  the  subject 
cf  his  York  preferment,"  quoth  Sir  Walter  Scott. 

Hac  sunt  in  fossa 
Bedee  Venerabilis  ossa.  f 

*  It  is  properly  the  monks  of  Fail  (in  Ayrshire), 
f  Also  in  large  letters  in  original.     To  make  it  correct  it  should 
be  Bedae.     The  correct  reading  is  in  Jackson's  Pulpit  Beminiscences, 
p.  32,  thus — 

Hac  sunt  in  fossa, 

Bedse  venerabilis  ossa. — See  the  legend,  I.e.  pp.  31-2. 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  DURHAM.  43 

This  faithful  servant  of  God  was  born  at  or  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Jarrow,  a.d.  dclxxii,  and  died  the  xxvi  day  of  May, 
Dccxxv.  The  name  of  Bede  has  been  preserved  with  the 
honour  which  he  so  worthily  obtained  through  many  later 
generations.  His  chair,  an  old  massive  oaken  seat,  is  still  at 
Jarrow  ;  his  bones  were  conveyed  to  Durham,  where  the 
princely  bishop,  Hugh  Pudsey,  nephew  of  K.  Stephen,  en- 
closed them  in  a  casket  of  gold  and  silver  in  that  part  of  the 
cathedral  called  the  Galilee.  An  altar-tomb  is  now  raised  over 
the  place,  with  the  above  inscription  restored  to  record  his 
worth,  which  may  be  thus  translated  : — 

Here  in  this  grave  rest  the  bones  of  Venerable  Bede.     Or, 
Here  beneath  these  stones,  lie  Venerable  Bede's  bones. 

Durham  is  built  upon  Seven  Hills. 

Viewed  from  the  north,  the  city  of  Durham  seems  to  be 
scattered  over  a  multitude  of  irregular  hills ;  and  we  discover 
parts  of  the  town,  the  castle,  and  the  churches,  through  several 
valleys  in  one  point  of  view,  so  that  they  appear  like  so  many 
distinct  places.  The  west  front  of  the  castle  is  seen  on  the 
summit  of  a  steep  and  deep  rock,  with  some  parts  of  the 
cathedral ;  and  the  street  of  St.  Giles,  as  if  totally  unconnected 
with  the  rest  of  the  town,  is  spread  over  the  brow  of  a  distant 
eminence.  The  hollow  passes  among  the  hills  on  the  north- 
west of  the  city  afford  beautiful  and  pictm'esque  prospects.  In 
fine,  its  situation  and  figure  being  so  peculiar  have  occasioned 
its  being  emphatically  called  the  "  English  Sion." 

Hegg,  who  wrote  the  legend  of  St.  Cuthbert,  says  in  reference 
to  Durham,  "  He  that  hath  scene  the  situation  of  this  citty 
liath  seene  the  map  of  Sion,  and  may  save  a  journey  to  Jeru- 
salem."    Hegg  wrote  his  book  in  mdcxxvi. 

Durham  has  also  been  whimsically  compared  to  a  crab,  the 
market-place  representing  the  body  and  the  streets  the  claws. 


44  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 


Rhyme  on  Sir  John  Duck. 

On  Duck  the  butchers  shut  the  door, 

But  Heslop's  daughter  Johnny  wed  ; 
In  mortgage  rich,  in  offspring  poor, 

Nor  son  nor  daughter  crown'd  his  bed. 

Sir  John  Duck,  the  richest  burgess  in  the  civic  annals  of 
Durham,  was  bred  a  butcher  under  John  Heslop,  in  defiance 
of  the  trade  and  mystery  of  butchers,  in  whose  books  appears 
the  following  entry: — "That  he  {i.e.  Heslop)  forbear  to  sett 
John  Duck  on  work  in  the  trade  of  butcher."  Duck,  however, 
grew  rich,  and  married  the  daughter  of  his  master,  and  even- 
tually was  created  a  baronet  by  James  II. 

Tradition  tells  that  after  he  was  cast  out  by  ilie  butchers  of 
Durham,  and  in  a  state  of  extreme  despondency,  a  raven  flying 
over  his  head  let  fall  a  piece  of  silver,  which  lucky  incident  made 
a  strong  impression  on  his  mind.  With  the  money  he  bought 
a  calf;  this  calf  with  care  and  perseverance  ere  long  became  a 
cow ;  the  cow  became  a  herd  of  cattle,  and  in  the  course  of  a 
few  years  he  realised  a  splendid  fortune.  He  built  himself  a 
noble  mansion  in  Silver  Street,  and  endowed  a  hospital  at 
Lumley,  probably  the  place  of  his  birth.  His  death  took  place 
xxvi  August  MDCXCI,  and  he  was  buried  beside  his  wife  at  the 
church  of  St.  Margaret,  on  Monday,  the  thirty-first  day  of  the 
same  month.  Of  his  birth,  parentage,  and  education,  nothing 
is  known. — See  Ducks,  p.  49. 

Here  lies  Cooper  all  alone, 
Matthew  is  dead,  the  base  is  gone. 

Said  to  have  been  written  on  old  Matthew  Cooper,  clerk, 
M.A.,  one  of  the  petit  canons  and  singing-men  of  the  cathedral 
church  of  Durham. 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  DURHAM.  45 

As  Cunning  as  a  Crafty  Cradock. 

It  appears  to  be  more  than  probable  that  John  Cradock,  vicar 
of  Gainford,  mdxciv,  might  have  given  rise  to  the  proverb. 
He  was  a  high  commissioner  for  Durham,  a  justice  of  the  peace, 
the  bishop's  spiritual  chancellor,  and  vicar-general.  He  con- 
founded the  jurisdiction  of  the  above  offices,  and  made  one 
to  assist  the  other.  He  took  bribes  as  a  magistrate,  and  did 
numerous  other  underhand  practices.  Mr.  Walbran,  in  his 
History  of  Gainford,  records  a  few  of  his  crafty  misdeeds. — 
Vide  p.  82,  &c. 

Mr.  Ray  gives  the  above  proverb  thus  :  "As  cunning  as  a 
Cradock,  &c.,"  but  as  to  what  is  included  in  the  "et  cetera" 
I  am  at  a  loss  to  imagine. 

Khyme  on  Barnabas  Hutchinsoh. 

Under  this  thorn  tree 
Lies  honesfc  Barnabee : 
But  where  he  is  gone, 

To  Heaven  or  Hell, 
I  freely  do  own 

I  cannot  tell. 

"  Honest  Barny "  was  a  proctor  of  Durham,  and  died  the 
xviiith  of  March,  mdcxxxiv.  His  remains  were  interred 
beneath  the  shadow  of  an  ancient  thorn. 

Black- Boy  and  Billy-row, 
Sunny-Side  and  Shiney-row, 
"White  Smocks  and  Mally  Bow. 

The  first  five  villages,  &c.,  are  situated  in  the  vicinities  of 
Bishop  Auckland,  the  city  of  Durham,  and  Sunderland.  Mally- 
Bow  is,  I  take  it,  the  corrupted  familiar  of  ]\Iary-le-Bow,  the 
name  of  one  of  the  churches  of  Durham. 


46  THE  DENHAM  TKACTS. 

Go  TO  BiDDICK  ! 

An  inelegant  maledictory  expression,  almost  peculiar  to  the 
city  of  Durham,  parallel  with  the  equally  elegant  canny  New- 
castle phrase, — 

Go  to  Shields  ! 

And  fish  for  eels, — 

which  we  occasionally  hear  varied  to  "And  shave  Ducks/' 
We  have  also,  in  the  south  of  England,  "  Go  to  Bath !"  and  in 
Scotland  ''  Go  to  Fruchie !  "  the  whole  of  which  are  pretty 
much  on  a  par  with  the  still  more  impious  one  of  "Go  to  the 
devil  and.  shake  yourself."  North  Biddick,  near  Chester-le- 
Street,  is  celebrated  in  the  mythology  of  the  bishoprick  for 
being  situated  near  unto  the  Worm  Hill,  around,  which  the 
most  famous  dragon,  serpent,  or  worm  of  Lambton,  is  said  to 
have  "  lapped  itself  six  times,  leaving  vermicular  traces,  of 
which  grave  living  witnesses  depose  that  they  have  seen  the 
vestiges." — See  Surtees's  History  of  Durham. 

Durham,  the  only  fikished  town  in  England. 

Neither  addition,  alteration,  or  improvement  is  said  to  take 
place  here,  for,  like  its  ancient  prototype  (Jerusalem),  it  re- 
mains in  much  the  same  condition  in  which  it  appeared  many 
centuries  ago — or  rather,  if  possible,  perhaps  worse !  [This 
cannot  be  said  of  it  in  the  year  of  grace,  1880  !] 

Hugh  Pudsey,  the  Young  Earl  and  Old  Bishop. 

When  Pudsey,  bishop  of  Durham,  had  begun  to  rue  his  vow 
of  going  on  a  crusade,  King  Richard,  more  desirous  of  the 
bishop's  gold  than  his  services,  proposed  to  dispense  with  his 
vow,  and  offered  to  appoint  him  one  of  his  regents  during  his 
absence.  Our  bishop's  vanity  now  kindled  into  a  blaze,  and  he 
readily  accepted  the  offer.     On  which  the  king  applied  to  bor- 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  DURHAM.  47 

row  the  money  which  the  prelate  had  collected,  and  this  brought 
on  a  bargain  for  the  purchase  of  the  earldom,  wapentake,  and 
manor  of  Sadberge,  to  be  annexed  to  the  see  of  Durham  for 
ever,  together  with  the  earldom  of  Northumberland  for  life,  for 
which  the  bishop  was  to  pay  the  sum  of  11,000^  The  youth- 
ful king,  when  he  girt  the  bishop  with  the  military  sword,  could 
not  forbear  his  derision  of  the  inconsistency  of  the  prelate's 
character,  and  turning  to  his  nobles,  merrily  laughing,  said  : 
"  Am  not  I  cunning,  and  my  craftes-master,  that  can  make  a 
yonge  earle  of  an  oulde  bishoppe  ?" — [Lambarde  styles  Pudsey 
^'  the  joly  byshop  of  Durham."] 

A  Ddnelm  op  Crab. 

A  piece  of  rather  aunciente  cookery  of  a  very  gouty  character. 
Dr.  Hunter  says  that  it  takes  its  name  from  an  old  city  in  the 
north  of  England,  where  '*good  eating"  and  "  good  drinking" 
are  considered  synonymous  terms. 

Ye're  like  the  Bishop's  Mother,  ye're  nivver  content,  nowther 
full  nor  fasting. 

Upon  the  elevation  of  Robert  de  Insula  to  the  See  of  Dur- 
ham, A.D.  MCCLXXiv,  he  gave  to  his  aged  mother,  who  was  still 
living  a  life  of  poverty  and  privation  in  her  island  home  of 
Lindisfarne,  now  Holy  Island,  what  he  conceived  an  ample 
provision  and  honourable  establishment.  He  surrounded  her 
with  men-servants  and  maid-servants  suitable  to  her  income. 
But  the  poor  old  widow,  instead  of  being  elated  with  at  least 
her  own  good  fortune,  became  so  much  the  more  wretched  and 
unhappy  in  proportion  as  the  number  of  her  household  servants 
were  increased  and  her  means  enlarged.  The  bishop  shortly 
atterwards  went  to  pay  his  parent  a  visit  at  the  place  of  his 
nativity ;  when,  to  his  great  grief,  he  found  the  ancient  lady, 
his  mother,  in  not  only  a  very  sorrowful  mood,  but  also  in  a 


48  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

very  ill- humour  to  boot.  He  asked,  "  And  how  fares  my  sweite 
mother  ?  "  "  Never  worse !"  quoth  she.  ^'  And  what  ails  thee 
or  troubles  thee  ?  Hast  thou  not  men  and  women  and  attend- 
ants sufficient  ?  "  "  Yea,"  quoth  she,  "  and  more  than  enow.  I 
say  to  one  '  go  '  and  he  runs  ;  to  another  '  come  hither,  fellow,' 
and  the  varlet  falls  down  on  his  knees ;  and  in  short  all  things 
go  on  so  abominably  smooth  that  my  heart  is  bursting  within 
me  for  something  to  spite  me,  and  pick  a  quarrel  withal."  This 
unhappiness  still  increasing,  she  ere  long  begged  to  be  restored 
to  her  solitary  life  with  a  moderate  competency. 

This  is  all  consistent  with  reason  and  daily  experience.  Her 
habits  had  too  long  been  formed,  and  she  was  too  far  advanced 
in  years,  to  lay  them  aside  and  begin  to  ape  the  manners  of  a 
gentlewoman. 

He's  a  Durham  M^n  ;  he's  Knocker  Kneed. 

From  the  effects,  I  suppose,  of  his  grinding  mustard  with  his 
knees.  Durham  at  one  period  was  celebrated  for  its  manufac- 
ture of  mustard.  [See  Saying  on  the  Seven  Celebrities  of  Dur- 
Jidniy  p.  55.]  The  saying  given  in  the  text  is  noticed  by  Grose 
in  his  Dictionary  of  the  Vulgar  Tongue.  It  is  also  a  common 
remark  on  a  "  knocker  "  or  in-kneed  person  that  "  He  grinds 
mustard  with  his  knees." 

The  City  of  Priests. 

For  many  centuries  Durham  has  been  proverbial  for  the 
number  of  priests  within  its  walls.  This  may  readily  be 
accounted  for  both  in  its  ancient  and  modern  establishments ; 
originally  as  the  seat  of  the  quondam  priory,  and  in  the  present 
day  of  the  cathedral  church  of  the  diocese.  Of  late  years  its 
celebrity  has  been  still  farther  increased  by  the  foundation  of  a 
regular  university  establishment,  which  may  God  bless  and 
prosper  as  long  as  the  city  exists ! 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  LURHAM.  49 


Ducks. 

Coals  are  occasionally,  still  proverbially,  so-called  in  th«  city 
of  Durham,  from  Sir  John  Duck,  the  famous  butcher  and 
merchant ;  but  why,  I  wot  not.  However,  it  is  possible  our 
"  knight  of  the  cleaver  "  might  be  the  owner  of  the  colliery 
from  whence  the  Durhamites  were  chiefly  supplied  with  fuel  at 
that  period  of  time. — {See  rhyme  on  Sir  John  Duck,  p.  44.) 


The  City  of  Durham  is  famed  for  Seven  things  :  Wood,  "Water, 
Pleasant  Walks,  Law,  Gospel,  Old  Maids,  and  Mustard. 

The  situation  of  the  city  of  Durham  is  singularly  and 
majestically  grand  ;  in  England  we  have  no  other  town  or  city 
to  compare  with  it.  The  river  Wear  nearly  surrounds  it,  and 
its  bold  and  precipitous  banks  are  clad  with  trees,  or  cultivated 
as  garden-ground,  advantage  being  taken,  here  and  there, 
of  the  occasional  terraces  whereon  to  erect  groups  of  dwelling- 
houses.  The  castle  with  its  embattled  keep,  and  the  noble 
and  massive  pile  of  the  venerable  cathedral  of  St.  Cuthbert, 
crown  the  lofty  eminence  and  overhang  the  romantic  banks  of 
the  river.  In  truth,  a  more  remarkable  or  finer  situation  could 
not  possibly  be  chosen  whereon  to  build  a  city,  either  as 
regards  beauty  or  security.  The  walks  in  connection  with 
the  city  in  every  direction  are  numerous,  and  exquisitely 
beautiful  and  enchanting.  Yet  here  all  praise  must  cease, 
for  a  dirtier  city  than  Durham,  it  is  universally  allowed,  does 
not  exist  in  the  whole  length  and  breadth  of  Her  Majesty's 
dominions.  Well  might  the  native  minstrels  parody  the  well 
known  song,  and  sing  : 


50  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

Through  Scotland  and  Engleland  tho'  we  may  roam, 
And  towns  e'er  so  dirty,  there's  no  place  like  Dor'm. 
No  charm  from  the  sky  seems  to  hallow  us  there, 
Which  seek  the  world  thro'  you'll  ever  meet  with  elsewhere. 

Dor'm,  Dor'm,  dirt,  dirty  Dorm  ; 
There  is  no  place  like  Dor'm, 
There  is  no  place  like  Dor'm  ! 

The  lawyers  and  the  clergy  form  so  numerous  a  class  tliat 
they  may  be  said  to  embrace  nearly  the  whole  portion  of  the 
upper  grades  of  society  within  the  bounds  of  the  city;  In  the 
annals  of  Durham  we  meet  with  numerous  instances  where  the 
former  (good  honest  men  and  true)  have  attained  that  amount 
of  honour  and  wealth  which  has  descended  to  their  children  and 
children's  children,  through  a  long  lapse  of  time. 

See  illustration  on  the  characteristic,  the  City  of  Priests. 

As  touching  the  two  concluding  celebrities,  to  wit,  old  maids 
and  mustard,  they  are^  as  every  one  I  think  will  allow,  just  as 
nearly  allied,  both  in  their  natures  and  properties,  as  misers 
and  money.  First  then,  old  maids.  For  a  long,  very  long 
series  of  years,  the  city  of  Durham  has  enjoyed  a  more  than 
abundant  share  of  old  maggotty  young  ladies,  otherwise  "  old 
virgins,*  whose  peculiarly  picturesque  appearance  in  gait  or 
person  instantly  betrays  their  "  aunciente  maydenhode,"  wher- 
ever and  whenever  you  meet  them,  whether  in  unos,  or  in  duos, 
trios,  or  quartos.  Less  than  seventy  years  ago  one  of  these 
trios  (sisters  by-thc-bye)  were  of  that  singularly  forbidding 
aspect  that  they  were  popularly  known  in  and  around  the  city 
by  the  cognomens  of  Plague,  Pestilence,  and  Famine. f 

At  no  very  distant  epoch,  Durham  was  highly  celebrated  for 

•"Mrs.  Dongwith,  old  virgin,  Elvet,  buried  17  June  1779." — 
Cath.  Keg.  book. 

f  With  equal,  if  not  greater  propriety,  they  might  have  been  named 
Envy,  Hatred,  and  Malice. 


POPULAK  EHYMES,  ETC.,  EELATING  TO  DURHAM.  51 

the  manufacture  and  superior  quality  of  its  mustard ;  but  row, 
alas  !  other  places  more  favourably  situated  for  trade  and  com- 
merce have  superseded  it,  and  at  the  present  day — 

Its  honours  are  gone,  and  its  glories  all  flown, 
And  it  is  no  longer  a  fam'd  mustard  town  ! ! 

I  conclude  with  a  short  sketch  from  the  early  history  of  this 
now  much  used  and  healthful  condiment:  '' Prior  to  the  year 
1720  there  was  no  such  luxury  as  mustard,  in  its  present  form, 
at  our  tables.  At  that  time  the  seed  was  coarsely  pounded  in 
a  mortar,  as  coarsely  separated  from  the  integument,  and  in 
that  rough  state  prepared  for  use.  In  the  year  mentioned  it 
occurred  to  an  old  woman  of  the  name  of  Clements,  residing  in 
Durham,  to  grind  the  seeds  in  a  mill,  and  pass  it  through  the 
several  processes  which  are  resorted  to  in  making  flour  from 
wheat.  The  secret  she  kept  many  years  to  herself,  and,  in  the 
period  of  her  exclusive  possession  of  it,  supplied  the  principal 
parts  of  the  kingdom,  and  in  particular  the  metropolis,  with 
this  article.  George  the  First  stamped  it  with  fashion  by  his 
approval.  Mrs.  Clements  as  regularly  twice  a  year  travelled  to 
London,  and  the  principal  towns  throughout  England,  for 
orders,  as  any  tradesman's  rider  of  the  present  day ;  and  the 
old  lady  contrived  to  pick  up  not  only  a  decent  pittance,  but 
what  was  then  thought  a  tolerable  competence.  From  this 
woman's  residing  in  Durham  it  acquired  the  name  of  Durham 
Mustard.* — (Extracted  from  Richardson's   Table  Book,   "  Le- 

*  In  the  Household  Book  of  the  fifth  Earl  of  Northumberland, 
temp.  Hen.  VIII.  (1512),  I  find  an  order  made  for  the  provision  of 
160  gallons  of  mustarde  for  the  use  of  the  *'  house  for  one  hole  year." 
And  that  the  "  somme  paide  for  the  full  contontacion  of  the  said 
mustarde  for  oone  hole  yere  ys  xxxiiij  s.  iiij  d."  A  later  item  in  the 
said  book  orders  "  that  whereas  mustarde  hath  beyn  boglit  of  the 
Sawce-Maker  aflforc  tyme,  that  now  it  be  made  within  my  Lordis  Hous, 
and  that  one  be  providid  to  be  groome  of  the  skullery  that  can  make  it.*' 

e2 


■52  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

gendary  Division/'   vol.  ii.   p.  339  ;   but  originally  from  the 
Gentlemaii's  Magazine.) 

A  saying  about  the  ancient  city  of  Durham  also  occurs  in 
a  trio  of  urban  celebrities,  in  hoc  modo,  "  Bishop's  Palace  and 
Jock's  Rovr ;  *  Durham  for  wealthy  priests,  old  maids,  good 
mustard,  simple  magistrates,  and  unoorrupt  jurors ;  Darlington 
for  quakers,  tammy  weavers,  and  a  bad  foundation  !  " 

Additional  Sayings. 

[If  ye  had  your  due  you  would  be  walking  up  Framwell- 
gate,  with  a  white  napkin  round  your  head,  on  the  road  to 
Pity  me ! 

A  clerical  friend  told  me  that  an  old  woman  in  Durham, 
when  in  a  vituperative  mood,  was  thus  accustomed  to  shout  to 
those  of  her  neighbours  who  had  offended  her.  Framwellgate 
is  a  street  in  Durham,  and  by  it  condemned  criminals  had  to 
pass  to  the  gallows,  which  stood  where  the  north  road  left  the 
town,  in  a  field  called  "  Pity  me,"  so  termed,  doubtless,  from 
the  neck  verse  Miserere  mei,  &c. 

There  is  an  old  example  of  Newcastle  slang,  in  the  Deposi- 
tions, &fG.  before  the  Court  at  Durham,^''  p.  89,  which  is  equally 
expressive  :  "  Defamatio,  26  Oct.  1658.  Margaret  Nicolsor, 
single  woman,  against  Agnes,  wife  of  Robert  Blenkinsop,  in 
causa  deff.  viz.,  '  hyte  hoore,  a  whipe  and  a  cast  and  a  franc 
hoode,f  waiesme  %  for  the,  my  lasse,  wenst  §  have  a  halpeny 
halter  for  the  to  goo  up  Gallygait  and  be  hanged  ?  '  " 

"There's  not  much  law  at  Durham  for  a  happeny."  This  is 
spoken  of  the  heavy  expenses  attending  the  Probate  Court  at 

*  The  highest  and  lowest  places  in  the  town,  both  as  regards 
situation  and  external  appearances. 

fThe  frenchhood  was  probably  another  name  for  the  branks,  an 
instrument  or  head-dress  used  in  Newcastle  to  punish  scolds. 

I  Wae  is  me.  §  Wilt  thou. 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  DURHAM.  53 

Durham,  and  the  obtaining  of  extracts  from  wills  which  arc 
deposited  there.    It  is  a  common  saying  at  Newcastle. — J.  H.] 

Eare  and  Popular  Rhymes,  Proverbs, 
Sayings,  Characteristics,  Re- 
proaches, &c.,  &c.,  Relating  to 
the  Inhabitants  of  Certain 
Towns  and  Villages  ; 
and  also  to  parti- 
cular Families 
and  Indivi- 
duals in 
the 
Bishoprick  of  Durham. 

The  prior  of  Finchale  has  got  a  fair  wife, 
And  every  old  monk  will  soon  have  the  like. 

The  following  variorum  reading  occurs  in  Mickleton's  MSS. 
preserved  in  Bishop  Cousin's  library,  Durham: — 

The  prior  of  Finkela  hath  got  a  fair  wife. 
And  every  monk  will  have  one. 

This  couplet  came  into  existence  immediately  following  the 
period  of  the  Reformation.  The  last  prior  of  Finchale  took  to 
himself  a  wife  the  moment  he  considered  himself  released  from 
his  monastic  vows  by  having  the  gates  of  his  convent  closed 
upon  him  by  Henry,  the  eighth  of  that  name. 

The  last  prior  of  Finchale  was  William  Bennet,  appointed  in 
MDXXXVI.  Doctor  of  Divinity  in  Durham  College,  Oxford,  vth 
July,  MDXXXV.  After  the  Dissolution  he  became  the  first  pre- 
bendary of  the  ivth  stall  in  Durham  Cathedral.  He  married 
Ann  Thompson.  In  MDLXXi  he  was  vicar  of  Kelloe,  which  he 
resigned  in  mdlxxix.  He  also  held  the  vicarage  of  Aycliffe 
alono;  with  his  stall  in  the  cathedral.  His  will  bears  date 
iv.    April,  MDLXXXill,  and  has  been  printed  by  the  Surtees 


54  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

Society  in  the  Proceedings  of  BUhop  Barnes.  It  proves  him  (in 
the  Inventoiy)  to  have  heen  rich  in  plate  and  furniture,  and  to 
have  had  his  barns  and  granaries  Avell  plenished.  His  books 
were  valued  at  five  shillings  only  I  He  left  three  sons,  Isaac, 
Robert,  and  John,  and  one  daughter,  Jane.  According  to 
Hutchinson  (vol.  ii.  p.  183)  his  great-grandson  was  living  at 
Aycliffe  in  1717.  He  had  a  brother,  Robert  (also  a  monk), 
who  became  ihe  first  prebendary  of  the  xi  stall  and  vicar  of 
Gainford.  The  will  of  the  latter  was  printed  by  the  Surtees 
Society,  among  other  Durham  Wills,  in  1835. 

During  a  long  series  of  years  antecedent  to  the  period  of  the 
Reformation,  a  pilgrimage  to  the  cell  of  Finchale  was  con- 
sidered as  highly  profitable  to  barren  wives. 

Another  stanza  in  the  same  collection,  from  whence  the 
above  is  taken,  forms  so  meet  a  companion  that  I  am  induced 
to  transfer  it  to  these  pages : — 

I'll  be  no  more  a  nun,  nun,  nun, 
I'll  be  no  more  a  nun  ! 

But  I'll  be  a  wife. 

And  lead  a  merry  life, 
And  brew  ale  by  the  tun,  tun,  tun, 
And  brew  good  ale  a  tun.  (ortg.) 

The  above  verses  are  curious,  and  show  the  feelinofs  of  at 
least  some  of  the  liberated  monastics  at  the  period  of  the 
Reformation.  A  great  many  of  the  emancipated  ecclesiastics 
married.  The  Bacons  of  Durham  and  Northumberland  are 
descended  from  a  monk  of  Weatherall  cell,  Cumberland. 

The  martlet  and  the  cine-foil  notes. 
The  Tempest  and  Umfraville  coats. 

"  This  auncient  rliime  took  use  in  the  Ilforth  on  the  cote  of 
Tempest,  of  Holmesett." — Dodsworth's  Collections,  Bod.  Lib. 
Lady  Frances,  daughter  and  sole  heiress  of  Sir  Henry  Vane 


POPULAK  EHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  DURHAM.  55 

Tempest,    of   Wynjard    Hall,    near   Sedgefield,    married    the 
Marquis  of  Londonderry,  its  present  possessor. 

The  family  of  Umfniville,  anciently  spelt  Umfranville,  were 
possessors  of  the  manor  of  Harbottle,  in  Northumberland,  in 
the  year  mlxxvi.  Its  former  owner  was  Mildred,  the  son  of 
Akman,  from  whom  it  was  wrested  by  William  the  Conqueror, 
and  given  to  Robert  de  Umfranville,  knt.  lord  of  Tours  and 
Vian,  otherwise  called  Kobert  with  the  Beard.  For  many 
generations  this  was  one  of  the  most  illustrious  families  in  the 
North  of  England. 

Like  the  Mayor  of  Hart-le-pool,  ye  cannot  do  that. 

The  sense  of  this  saying  is,  you  cannot  work  impossibilities. 
A  certain  mayor  of  this  (at  that  time)  poor  but  ancient  corpora- 
tion, desirous  to  show  his  old  companions  that  he  was  not  too 
much  elated  by  his  high  office,  told  them  that,  though  he  was 
Mayor  of  Hart-le-pool,  he  was  still  but  a  man !  there  being 
many  things  he  could  not  do ;  which  I  account  as  much  more 
commendable  than  the  swagger  of  the  learned  (?)  mayor  of 
Banbury,  who  in  solemn  conclave  undertook  to  prove  that 
Henry  III.  reigned  before  Henry  11. 

The  Cauld  Lad  o'  Hylton. 

This  was  the  cognomen  of  a  certain  ghost  or  domestic  spirit^ 
of  the  brownie  or  Robin  Goodfellow  genus,  which,  some  two  or 
three  centuries  ago,  used  to  haunt  the  ancient  pile  of  Hylton 
castle.  The  merry  pranks  of  the  goblin,  which  appears  at  all 
times  to  have  been  perfectly  harmless,  however,  became  weari- 
some to  the  servants,  and  they  determined  upon  banishing  him  ; 
but  the  Cauld  Lad  having  caught  an  inkling  of  their  intentions, 
used  to  amuse  himself  in  the  dead  of  the  night  with  chanting, 
in  a  melancholy  strain,  the  following  consolatory  lines : — 


5G  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

Wae's  me !     Wae's  me  ! 
The  acorn  is  not  yet 
Grown  upon  the  tree 
That's  to  grow  the  wood 
That's  to  make  the  cradle 
That's  to  rock  the  bairn 
That's  to  grow  a  man 
That's  to  lay  me  ! 

But  the  Cauld  Lad  reckoned  without  his  host,  for  the 
domestics  provided  the  usual  means  of  banishment,  viz.,  a  green 
cloak  and  a  hood,  which  they  laid  before  the  kitchen  fire.  At 
the  hour  of  midnight,  the  goblin  sprite  stood  before  the  smoul- 
dering embers  and  surveyed  the  garments  provided  for  him 
very  attentively,  then  tried  them  on,  and  appeared  delighted 
with  his  appearance,  frisking  about  the  room,  and  cutting 
sundry  somersets  and  gambadoes,  until  at  length,  on  hearing  the 
first  crow  of  the  cock,  twitching  his  green  mantle  about  him,  he 
disappeared  with  the  appropriate  valediction  of — 

Here's  a  cloak  and  here's  a  hood, 

The  Cauld  Lad  o'  Hylton  will  do  na'  mair  good  ! 

And  although  he  has  never  returned  to  disarrange  the  pewter 
vessels,  or  set  the  house  in  order,  yet  his  voice  was  long  after 
heard,  at  the  dead  hour  of  midnight,  singing  in  melancholy 
melody, — 

Here's  a  cloak  and  here's  a  hood, 

The  Cauld  Lad  o'  Hylton  will  do  na'  mair  good ! 

There  is  a  room  in  Hylton  Castle,  known  as  the  Cauld  Lad's 
Room,  which  was  never  used  excepting  when  the  cas'ie  was 
full  of  company,  and  within  the  last  century  many  persons 
worthy  of  credit  had  heard  at  midnight  the  unearthly  wailings 
of  the  Cauld  Lad  o'  Hylton.     [For  the  latest  "  Legends  con- 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  DURHAM.  57 

iiected  with  Hylton  Castle,"  see  an  article  by  Mr.  W.  H.  D. 
LongstafFe  in  Arch.  jEliana,  N.s.  vii.  pp.  153-169.] 
Mr.  LongstafFe  gives  a  variation  : — 

I've  taken  your  cloak,  I've  taken  your  liood, 
The  Cowed  Lad  of  Hylton  will  do  no  more  good. 

A  Sunderland  Fitter. 

The  playing-card  known  as  the  knave  of  clubs  is  so  called. 
[Qy.Why?] 

The  Apostle  of  the  North. 

A  honourable  appellation  worthily  bestowed  upon  one  of  the 
earliest  and  best  divines  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  of 
which  she  has  just  cause  to  be  proud.  There  was  also  a  saying, 
which  originated  at  the  period  in  which  this  northern  worthy 
held  the  rectory  of  Hough ton-le- Spring,  so  singularly  expressive 
of  his  bountiful  and  boundless  hospitality,  that  it  must  not  be 
omitted  in  this  short  illustration,  to  wit,  "  If  a  horse  was  turned 
loose  in  any  part  of  the  country  it  would  immediately  make  its 
way  to  the  rector  of  Houghton's." 

It  is  almost  unnecessary  to  give  the  name  of  Bernard  Gilpin. 

We'll  a'  gan'  together  like  the  folks  o'  Shields. 

The  origin  of  this  saying  is  now,  I  fear,  quite  forgotten ;  at 
least,  I  have  never  been  able  to  meet  with  it,  although  I  have 
made  numerous  inquiries.  Perhaps  it  may  have  referred  to 
the  snug  parties  of  neighbours  which  used  to  go  by  boatsfull  up 
and  down  the  Tyne  between  Shields  and  Newcastle,  and  which 
got  for  these  vessels  the  name  of  Comfortables.— Robert  Ingham, 
Esq.,  of  Westoe,  formerly  M.P.  for  Shields. 

This  saying  also  belongs  to  Berwickshire.  "  We'll  gang  a' 
thegither  like  the  folk  o'  the  Shiels  "  is  very  common  in  the 


58  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

moutlis  of  the  peasantry  when  any  party  of  them  wish  to 
accompany  another  to  their  homes  from  kirns,  fairs,  and  other 
social  meetings. — Henderson's  Popular  Rhymes,  &c.,  of  Ber- 
wick, p.  41. 

Place-names  that  terminate  in  Shiel  or  Shiels  are  numerous 
in  the  hill-district  of  that  county ;  and  there  is  another 
proverb  in  reference  to  this,  viz.,  "  There's  as  mony  Shiels 
in  the  Lammermoors  as  there's  rigs  in  the  Merse."  As 
the  inhabitants  of  such  farm-places  were  limited  in  number, 
when  they  went  out  to  kirk  or  market  they  took  their  departure 
in  a  body ;  and,  from  this  circumstance,  the  proverb  has  been 
considered  to  have  originated. 

Here  lies  John  Lively,  vicar  of  Kelloe, 
Who  had  seven  daughters  and  never  a  fellow. 

That  is,  he  had  no  male  child.  "  John  Lively  in  his  will 
bequeaths  to  his  daughter  Elizabeth  a  very  choice  jewel  in  the 
shape  of  his  best  gold  ring,  with  a  death's  head  in  it,  of  all 
good  things,  and  vii  yards  of  white  cloth  for  curtains  of  a  bed. 
His  daughter  Mary  fared  more  pleasantly,  for  she  got  his  silver 
seal  of  arms,  his  gimald  ring,  and  a  black  gold  ring." — Long- 
staffe's  Hist,  of  Darlington. 

Another  version  of  the  saying  gives  six  daughters  only. 

Frek-born  John,  or  Lilburne,  the  Trouble  World. 

Such  was  the  familiar  name  of  John  Lilburne,  which  he 
acquired  on  account  of  his  bold,  intrepid,  and  assiduous  labours 
during  the  Commonwealth,  in  defence  of  the  rights  and  liberties 
of  the  people.  Being  both  a  scholar  and  soldier,  his  pen  and 
sword  were  both  wielded  with  uncommon  perseverance,  though 
he  was  frequently  tried,  imprisoned,  and  punished  for  these 
offences.  As  a  soldier  he  distinguished  himself  in  the  battles  of 
Edge-Hill,  Brentford,  and  Marston  Moor,  in  the  Parliament 
army;  and,  as  a  writer,  he  was  admired  both  in  his  political 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  DURHAM.  50 

and  puritanical  character.  He  possessed  an  unconquerable 
spirit,  and  was  of  so  quarrelsome  a  disposition  that  it  has  been 
appositely  said  of  him,  that  if  there  none  living  but  him,  John 
would  be  against  Lilburne,  and  Lilburne  against  John.*  Hume 
designates  him  as  "the  most  turbulent,  but  the  most  upright 
find  courageous  of  human  kind."  He  was  born  at  Sunderland 
in  the  year  1618.  His  deatli  took  place  at  Eltliam,  Aug.  29, 
1657,  and  two  days  afterwards  liis  body  was  brought  to  London 
and  interred  in  the  Quakers'  graveyard.  The  following  epigram- 
matic epitaph  appeared  shortly  after  the  decease  of  "  Lilburne 
the  Trouble  World":— 

Js  John  departed,  and  is  Lilburne  gone  ? 
Farewell  to  both,  to  Lilburne  and  to  John  ! 
Yet  being  gone,  take  this  advice  from  me, 
Let  them  not  both  in  one  grave  buried  be. 
Here  lay  ye  John,  lay  Lilburne  thereabout, 
For  if  they  both  should  meet  they  will  fall  out. ' 
See  Political  Ballads,  printed  for  the  Percy  Society,  p.  97,  &c. 

CnowLEv's  Crew. 

Any  black,  dirty-looking  person  is  proverbially  described  as 
one  of  Crowley's  crew. 

Ambrose  Crowley  was  a  native  of  Newcastle-upon-Tyne,  who, 
from  the  humble  condition  of  a  common  blacksmith,  by  his 
industry,  invention,  and  perseverance  in  promoting  the  trade 
and  manufactures  of  his  country,  raised  himself  to  affluence  and 
nobility.  Sir  Ambrose  Crowley  removed  his  own  ironworks, 
then  in  their  infancy,  from  Sunderland  to  Winlaton,  which  then 
consisted  only  of  "  a  few  deserted  cottages,"  but  soon  became 
densely  peopled  by  the  multitude  of  persons  employed  in  the 

*  Judge  Jenkins  said  of  him,  "  That  if  the  world  was  emptied  of 
all  but  himself,  Lilburne  would  quarrell  with  John,  and  John  with 
Lilburne."     His  character  is  given  in  Iludibras,  part  iii.  canto  ii. 


GO  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

various  branches  of  the  iron  trade  in  this  cyclopean  colony. 
He  drew  up  a  code  of  laws  for  the  regulation  of  his  colony, 
which  have  to  a  certain  extent  superseded  the  general  law  of 
the  land,  and  become  locally  established,  and  remain  in  force 
to  the  present  time.  [In  Hornby's  MSS.  ii.  p.  45,  is  the  fol- 
lowing entry :  "  The  town  hutch  (of  Newcastle)  rob'd  by  a 
mob  of  keelmen  and  Crowley's  crew,  the  26th  June,  1740." — 
[The  town  hutch  was  a  strong  chest  secured  by  nine  locks,  in 
which  the  money  received  by  the  town  of  Newcastle  was  de- 
posited.— J.  H.]  A  tax  is  levied  among  the  workmen  to  support 
the  aged  or  disabled  who  ere  known  as  ''  Crowley's  poor.''' 

The  Biddickers, 

The  village  of  South  Biddick  is  in  a  sequestered  situation, 
and  was  formerly  inhabited  by  banditti,  who  set  all  authority 
at  defiance.  The  press-gang  were  once  beaten  out  of  the  place 
with  the  loss  of  two  men,  and  never  more  known  to  enter,  for 
if  they  were  known  to  be  in  the  neighbourhood  the  Biddickers 
used  to  sound  a  horn,  the  signal  for  them  to  fly  to  arms  ;  fires 
were  lighted  in  various  places,  and  the  keels  in  the  river  were 
seized,  with  which  they  formed  a  bridge  of  communication  with 
Fatfield  (another  place  equally  as  lawless  as  their  own),  and 
kept  watch  and  ward  till  the  danger  was  past.  In  consequence 
of  this  it  became  a  receptacle  for  such  as  had  violated  the  laws 
of  their  country.  It  was  here  the  unfortunate  James  Drum- 
mond,  Duke  of  Perth,  took  sanctuary  after  the  rebellion  of 
1745-6,  under  the  protection  of  Nicholas  Lambton,  Esq.,  who 
had  his  residence  hero,  where  he  lived  in  obscurity  and  conceal- 
ment till  1782,  when  he  died,  and  was  buried  at  Painshaw. 
—  {See  page  46.) 

By  'grees  and  'grees,  as  the  West  Aucklakd  Lasses  get  their 

Fortune^. 

The  meaning  of  this  proverb  is  obvious,  but  as  regards  the 
origin  thereof  I  am  totally  ignorant. 


POPULAR  EHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  DURHAM.  61 

''  0,  MON,  GAN  Ka'  further  ;  LET  ME  DIGEST  THE  KNOWLEDGE  I 
ha'  gained,  for,  by  my  soul,  I  DID  NA'  KEN  AdAm's  NAME  WAS 
LUMLEY." 

From  Mr.  Pennant  we  glean  the  following  story  : — "  When 
King  James  the  First,  in  one  of  his  Progresses,  was  entertained 
in  Lumley  Castle,  William  James,  bishop  of  Durham,  a  relation 
of  the  house,  in  order  to  give  his  majesty  an  idea  of  the 
importance  of  the  family,  wearied  him  with  a  long  detail  of  their 
ancestors,  to  a  period  even  past  belief.  '  0,  mon,'  says  the  king, 
*  gan  na'  further :  let  me  digest  the  knowledge  I  ha'  gained, 
for,  by  my  soul,  I  did  na'  ken  Adam's  name  was  Lumley.' " 

The  Lumleys  are,  however,  all  foolish  boasting  apart,  a 
family  of  extremely  high  antiquity, 

"Sir  Harry,  Oh  I   Sir  Harry  Vane!  The  Lord  deliver  me  from 
Sir  Harry  Vane  !  " 

The  above  expression  was  given  utterance  to  by  Oliver 
Cromwell  when  in  the  act  of  dissolving  the  Long  Parliament, 
in  consequence  of  Sir  Harry's  opposition  thereto.'  Sir  H.  Vane 
was  a  staunch  republican,  and  resisted  Oliver  Cromwell  to  such 
a  decree  that  the  usurper  sent  him  to  Carisbrook  Castle.  On 
the  Restoration  he  was  arrested  and  committed  to  the  Tower ; 
and  although  accused  only  of  acts  that  occurred  after  the  king's 
death,  he  was  found  guilty  and  beheaded  on  Tower  Hill  in  the 
year  mdclxii. 

Harry  Vane,  who  never  said  a  false  thing  or  did  a  bad  one. 

Harry  Vane,  iii.  d.  Lord  Barnard,  was  the  great-grandson  of 
the  immortal  Sir  Harry,  from  whom  the  still  more  celebrated 
Oliver  Cromwell  so  jeerlngly  intreated  the  Lord  to  deliver  him. 
Lord  Barnard  was  Vice-Treasurer  of  Ireland,  Lord  Lieutenant 
and  Vice- Admiral  of  the  county  of  Durham,  &c.,  &c.  Li  1754, 
during  the  ministry  of  the  Duke  of  Newcastle,  he  was  created 


()2  THE  DEXHAM  TRACTS. 

Viscount  Barnard  and  Earl  of  Darlington.  His  character  is 
variously  given  by  the  hot  politicians  of  the  day.  Horace 
Walpole  lashes  him  in  the  most  bitter  style;  but  by  the  premier 
duke,  who  knew  him  better,  he  is  eulogised  as  one  of  the  best 
and  most  trustworthy  of  men. 

Here  lies  Eobert  Trollop, 
Who  made  yon  stones  roll  up  ; 
And  when  God  took  his  soul  up, 
His  body  fill'd  this  hole  up. 

In  Gateshead  churchyard  was  a  singular  monument,  said  to 
have  been  erected  by  Robert  Trollop,  the  architect  of  tlie 
Exchange  at  Newcastle,  to  cover  his  own  intended  place  of 
interment.  It  was  a  square  heavy  building,  and  the  upper 
part  contained  several  scriptural  texts  in  gold  letters  on  a  black 
ground.  It  is  said  that  there  was  originally  a  statue  on  the 
north  side  of  this  monument  pointing  towards  the  Exchange, 
which  is  nearly  opposite,  and  having  the  above  lines  below  the 
feet. 

Variation,  extracted  from  Anthologiaj  by  W.  T.,  Inner 
Temple,  Lond.  1807,  p.  49. 

I,  Sir  John  Trollop, 
Made  these  stones  roll  up  ; 
When  God  shall  take  my  soul  up, 
My  body  shall  fill  that  hole  up. 

See  Hutcliinson's  Hist,  of  Northumberland, 

Vol.  ii.  pp.  401-2. 

[I  find  the  following  in  Hornhy^s  MSS.  ii.  p.  33.  There  is 
a  tradition  that  Daniel  Defoe,  who  was  concealing  himself  in 
these  parts  on  account  of  some  prosecution  against  him  for  his 
writings,  standing  in  Gateshead  churchyard  made  the  follow- 
ing extempore  epitaph: 


POPULAE  RHYMES,  ETC  ,  RELATING  TO  DURHAM.       63 

Here  lies  Robert  Trollop, 
Who  made  yon  stones  role-up ; 
When  Heaven  took  his  soul  up, 
His  body  fill'd  this  hole  up. 

It  is  also  added  there,  "There  is  no  epitaph,  and  no  statue  of 
Trollop  pointing  to  Newcastle  Exchange  as  stated  by  Pen- 
nant."—J.  H.] 

Note. — Although  the  monument  of  Trollop  no  longer  exists 
in  the  cemeterj-garth  of  Gateshead  church,  the  curious  will 
be  gratified  so  far  in  that  the  old  ruinated  tomb  has  of  late  been 
restored,  in  accordance  with  the  original  design,  by  the  opulent 
family  of  Greene,  memorials  of  whom  it  bears.  A  third  variorum 
reading  of  the  Trollop  rhymes  gives  Death  in  the  place  of  God 
in  line  3.  Not  a  very  sensible  variation,  yet  il  is  one  I  have 
both  seen  and  heard. 

"They  would  be  Angels,  not  Angles,  if  they  were  but 
Christians." 

The  intention  of  converting  the  Anglo-Saxons  to  the  Chris- 
tian faith  originated  with  Gregory,  surnamed  the  Great,  after- 
wards bishop  of  Rome.  It  happened  that  this  prelate,  when 
archdeacon  of  Rome,  had  observed  in  the  forum  or  market- 
place of  Rome  some  flaxen-haired  Anglo-Saxon  youths  exposed 
for  sale,  whom  their  mercenary  parents  had  sold  to  the  Roman 
merchants.  Struck  with  their  fair  complexions  and  beautiful 
countenances,  he  demanded  out  of  what  country  they  were? 
And  understanding  they  were  heathen  Angles,  he  lamented  the 
case  of  a  land,  the  inhabitants  being  so  beautiful,  to  be  subject 
to  the  prince  of  darkness,  and  said  they  ought  more  properly  to 
be  denominated  Non  Angli,  sed  Angeli  forent  si  essent  Chris- 
tiani.  And  asking  out  of  what  province  they  were,  was 
answered,  "Out  of  Deira,  the  southern  province  of  the  king- 
dom of  Northumbria."     "Deira,"  he  replied,  "that  is  good; 


64  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

they  must  be  called  to  the  mercy  of  God  from  his  anger,  De 
ira  Deiy  "But  what  is  the  name  of  the  king  of  that  pro- 
vince?" "  Aella,"  was  the  reply.  "  AUelulia,"  cried  he,  "we 
must  endeavour  that  the  praise  of  God  be  sung  in  that  country." 
Gregory  was  strongly  pressed  in  the  spirit  to  go  into  Britain 
to  endeavour  the  conversion  of  those  heathens,  but  Pelagius  11. , 
the  then  bishop  of  Rome,  and  the  whole  of  the  people  of  that 
city,  rose  in  an  uproar  and  prevented  his  departure.  On  his 
elevation  to  the  apostolic  see  ho  despatched  Augustine,  with 
other  preachers  of  the  Benedictine  order,  to  the  number  of 
eleven,  to  undertake  the  conversion  of  the  Anglo-Saxons. 


Beef  to  the  heels,  like  a  Durham  Heifer. 

The  banks  of  the  Tees  are  celebrated  for  their  breed  of 
short-horned  cattle  ;  when  four  years  old  they  generally  weigh 
from  eighty  to  ninety  stones.  In  1779  a  fat  ox,  bred  by  Mr. 
Thomas  Hill,  of  Blackwell,  was  sold  to  a  butcher  in  Dar- 
lington for  lOy^.  lis. ;  it  weighed  160  stones  10  lbs.,  at  141b*. 
the  stone.  The  Durham  White  Ox,  which  weighed  223  stones 
(of  14  lbs.),  measured,  from  tail  to  poll,  eight  feet  eight  inches, 
at  the  age  of  seven  years.  It  was  bred  and  fed  by  J.  D. 
Newsham,  Esq.,  late  of  Houghton.  Sheep  also,  bred  and  fed 
in  this  county,  have  attained  the  enormous  weight  of  fiftj-four 
pounds  per  quarter. 

The  proverb  is,  I  am  told,  generally  applied  to  ladies  with 
not  very  small  ankles. 

Can  soss  (J,.e.  lap)  as  much  milk  as  the  Lambton  Worm. 

Spoken  of  the  ploughman,  who  after  having  drank  his  two 
or  three  pints  of  milk,  and  ate  a  proportionate  quantity  of 
household  bread,  assists  himself  to  anotlier  I 

It  is  traditionally  said  that  the  Lambton  Worm  could  drink 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  DURHAM.  65 

the  milk  of  nine  kine,  as  the  following  stanzas,  extracted  from 
the  ballad,  will  testify  : — 

To  the  milky  fold  it  would  crawl  at  eve, 

And  at  the  morning's  break ; 
And  feed  on  the  milk  that  nine  kine  gave, 

In  mien  both  soft  and  sleek. 

But  should  that  boon  e'er  be  denied, 

Both  men  and  beast  must  fly, 
Its  hideous  form  would  swell  with  pride, 

And  ire  flash  from  its  eye. 

Note. — I  never  but  once  heard  the  above  saying  repeated. 


Never  trust  a  Little. 

Although  this  saying  is  nearly  universally  used  under 
another  name  in  the  bishoprick,  and  elsewhere  in  the  North  of 
England,  I  have  reason  to  believe  that  the  above  is  the  correct 
form,  and  the  other  a  mere  adaptation.  A  family  of  this  name 
(Little)  were  celebrated  rievers,  or,  in  other  and  more  modern 
language,  thieves,  dwelling  on  the  border. 

On  Tunstall  grows  the  bonny  rose, 

At  Hetton  the  lily  pale  ; 
But  the  bonny  rose  won't  kythe  with  Bowes, 

Sweet  hly  of  the  vale. 

Kythe,  kin,  to  be  akin  to.  A  branch  of  the  Shadforth 
family  of  Eppleton  was  seated  at  Tunstall.  Anthony  Shad- 
forth, of  Tunstall,  who  died  in  mdcl,  had  several  daughters, 
who  all  married  well.  The  allusion  may  probably  apply  to 
Mary  (the  flower  of  the  family),  who  might  refuse  to  kythe 
with  Bowes  at  the  time  the  stanza  was  written,  and  yet  after- 
wards alter  her  mind. —  Sir  Cuthbert  Sharp's  Bishoprick  Gar- 
land. 

V 


66  THE  DENHAM  TEACTS. 

He  (She,  or  It)  is  a  Tofthill-er. 

Any  person,  or  thing,  extremely  rough  and  uncouth  in 
manners  or  appearance,  is  so  characterised.  The  village  of 
Tofthill  is  situated  between  Evenwood  and  Wolsingham. 

Who  knows  but  Mister  Bowes 

In  his  old  days  will  mend  his  ways  ! 

Tradition  tells  that  early  one  morning,  about  the  year  1740, 
as  "  Sir"  Will.  Brown,  and  a  chosen  few  of  his  merrie  men, 
were  returning  from  the  scene  of  some  midnight  robbery  upon 
the  king's  highway,  in  the  far  west,  and  travelling  along  the 
road  in  the  direction  of  Darlington,  his  horse,  which  was  dread- 
fully tired,  sank  almost  up  to  his  knees  in  mud  and  mire  at  every 
step  he  took;  at  the  last  he  fell  from  sheer  exhaustion,  and, 
sans  ceremonie,  flung  his  rider  to  flounder  in  the  mud,  and 
extricate  himself  as  best  he  might.  The  ryghte  honest  knyghte, 
who  was  speedily  soused  from  head  to  foot  in  the  filthy  fluid,  on 
recovering  firm  footing  and  opening  his  eyes,  beheld  Squire 
Bowes,  the  owner  of  Thornton  Hall  and  the  estate  through 
which  passed  this  execrable  road,  just  outside  his  own  mansion 
house  immediately  opposite,  to  whom,  calling  aloud,  he 
addressed  the  above  rhymes.  These  wonderfully  harmonical 
succession  of  sounds,  it  will  be  observed,  bear  a  twofold  appli- 
cation, and  were,  no  doubt,  considered  sufficiently  witty  and 
satirical  at  the  period  at  which  they  were  spoken  impromptu 
by  that  good  honest  man  and  true,  "  Sir  "  William  Brown, 
Knight  of  the  Order  of  St.  Nicholas. 

We  are  not  informed  whether  Mister  Bowes  took  the  hint 
and  mended  his  ways  in  accordance  with  the  advice  so  gratui- 
tuously  given  by  the  witty  highwayman,  or  not,  but  let  us  hope 
that,  for  his  soul's  health,  and  the  comfort  of  all  travellers, 
whether  on  horseback  or  on  foot,  he  speedily  set  about  mend- 
ing not  only  his  public  but  his  private  ways  also  ! 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  DURHAM.  67 

The  Mayor  of  Stockton  town, 
And  the  Mayor  of  Hart-le-pule  ; 
The  first's  a  silly  young  fellowe, 
The  second's  an  awde  fule. 

To  what  particular  period  in  the  history  of  these  two  neigh- 
bouring corporations,  and  rival  ports,  to  assign  the  above 
homely  verses,  I  most  freely  confess  1  am  quite  ignorant. 

Chester-le-Street;  where  the  Folks  play  at  Putt  for  Bairns. 

In  October,  1735,  a  child  of  James  ana  Elizabeth  Leesh,  of 
the  above  place,  was  played  for  at  cards,  at  the  sign  of  the 
"  Salmon,"  (»ne  game,  four  shillings  against  the  child,  by 
Henry  and  John  Trotter,  Kobert  Thompson,  and  Thomas  Elli- 
son ;  it  was  won  by  the  latter,  and  delivered  to  them  accord- 
ingly.— Local  Records,  1st  ed.  p.  79. 

Sunderland  Sowies. 

This  rather  coarse  and  unenviable  epithet  is,  even  down  to 
the  present  day,  applied  to  the  fair  sex  of  Sunderland.  The 
meaning  of  the  word  sowies,  although  now  nearly  forgotten,  is 
evidently  the  diminutive  of  sow. 

Has  a  Chip  of  Bede's  Chair  in  her  Pouch. 

It  has  been  a  custom  from  time  immemorial  for  the  ladies, 
immediately  after  the  conclusion  of  the  marriage  ceremony 
(before  Hymen's  altar  in  Jarrow  church),  to  proceed  to  the 
vestry  and  cut  a  chip  off  Bede's  chair,  to  ensure  their  fruitful- 
ness.  The  saying  is  generally  applied  to  those  females  who 
show  signs  of  fecundity  rather  early  after  entering  into  the 
happy  state  of  matrimony. 

Many  a  fair  pilgrim  has  borne  away  chips  oflF  this  wonder- 
working chair,  to  place  under  her  pillow,  in  full  confidence 
that  the  man  she  dreams  of  will  be  her  future  husband. 

f2 


68    .  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

WiNLATON  Shags. 
The  good  folks  of  Winlaton  are  so  called,  but  why  I  know 
not  (see  p.  72). 

"  Better  Luck  Still,  quoth  Eowley  Burdon." 

All  extremely  popular  toast  and  saying  through  nearly  the 
whole  of  the  North  of  England. 

Lord  Strathmore's  Bumblers. 

When  the  late  Earl  of  Strathmore  raised  the  Derwent  Legion, 
in  1803,  from  no  doubt  a  principle  of  economy  he  clothed  the 
infantry  in  scarlet  jackets  and  black  breeches  and  accoutrements. 
From  this  singular  dress  the  corps  obtained  the  contemptuous 
designation  of  the  Bumblers.* — [From  Brochett.~\ 

Byerley's  Bull-Dogs. 

A  name  for  Colonel  Byerley's  troopers,  still  remembered  in 
popular  tradition. 

Tanfield  fools,  and  x^nfield  lubberts, 
Hungry  Iceton  with  its  empty  cupboards. 

Tanfield,  Anfield,  and  Iceton  (properly  Iveston),  are  villages 
and  hamlets  near  the  source  of  the  river  Derwent. 

This  rhyming  couplet  is  still  aj)plied  as  a  reproach  on  the 
ignorance,  idleness,  and  poverty  of  the  inhabitants  of  these  por- 
tions of  the  Bishoprick  ;  but  it  is  scarcely  applicable  to  the 
natives  of  the  present  day  and  generation,  although  often  used. 

*  Before  the  present  rage  for  volunteering,  the  old  country  yeo- 
manry trained  at  Newcastle  were  called  Noodles,  and  the  children 
were  accustomed  to  shout  after  them  as  "  Bumblers  "  and  "  Pheside 
Fumblers,"  who  "  daurena  gang  to  war." 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  DURHAM.  69 

The  strength  of  Hugh 
A  lion  slew. 

This  verse  in  its  Latin  form  of — 

Viribus  Hugonis,  vires  periere  leonis — 

was  written  in  commemoration  of  one  of  the  family  of  Neville, 
who  attended  King  Eichard  I.  in  the  Holy  Land  wars,  and 
was  an  especial  favourite  with  his  royal  master.  This  Hugh 
Neville  slew  a  lion  in  the  Holy  Land,  first  driving  an  arrow 
into  his  breast  and  then  running  him  through  the  body  with  his 
sword.  He  was  buried  about  the  year  mccxx.  under  a  marble 
monument  in  the  church  of  Waltham  Abbey  in  Essex. 

There  seems  no  known  similarity  of  descent  between  the 
family  of  Hugh  de  Neville  and  the  Nevilles  whose  heiress 
became  by  marriage  the  lady  of  Raby.  Hugh's  seal  is  figured 
by  Thompson  in  his  History  of  Boston.  It  represents  his  leonine 
contest,  the  lion's  address  forming  the  legend  :  "  Or,  a  gardez. 
Bel  ami  Trop.  Fort.  Baaile.  i.A.ci."  Hugh's  father,  Ealph, 
founded  Hoton  Nunnery,  in  Yorkshire,  and  the  name  of  Neville 
is  my  only  inducement  for  alluding  to  his  son  in  this  series. 

To  Kill  all,  like  Andrew  Mills. 

Spoken  of  certain  bishoprick  sportsmen  who  indiscriminately 
kill  all  that  comes  within  range  of  their  guns. 

There  Never  was  an  Allan  a  Parson. 

Spoken  of  the  family  of  Allan  of  Blackwell,  in  com.Dunelm., 
and  Barton,  in  com.  Ebor. ;  and  the  pedigree  of  the  family  fully 
bears  out  the  saying. 

Like  Shankey  Hall,  he  takes  ne  Hints. 

A  highly  popular  bishoprick  proverb.  There  was  a  Shankey 
Hall  belonging  to  the  city  of  Durham  who  died  a  few  years  ago, 


70  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

a  very  little  man,  who  is  well  remembered.  He  was  bellman  of 
Durham,  a  rather  singular  character,  and  used  to  wear  a  three- 
cocked  hat  of  the  old  school.  His  son,  a  tailor,  still  lives  in 
Durham ;  he  also  goes  by  the  name  of  "  Shankey  Hall."  — 
[W.  D.] 

Whorlton  Snobs 
Are  all  called  Bobs. 

Whether  to  translate  the  word  Snobs  by  shoemakers,  or 
vulgar,  rude,  and  illiterate  persons,  I  cannot  determine  ;  but  be 
that  as  it  may,  it  appears  that  the  name  of  Robert  did  at  one 
time  prevail  to  a  great  extent  in  the  village  of  Whorlton,  in  the 
parish  of  Gainford. 

Johannes  Lumleius 
Annos  mille  vives. 

''  The  transpose  of  the  letters  in  the  name  of  Lord  Lumley 
doth  seeme  prophetically  to  promise  many  years  unto  that 
worthy  and  good  old  man." — Camden's  Remaines. 

In  the  year  mdxciv.  Bishop  Matthew  granted  a  licence  to  the 
above  nobleman  to  translate  to  Chester-le- Street  the  remains 
and  monuments  of  his  ancestors,  particularly  of  John  Lumley 
and  Ralph  Lumley,  from  the  yard  of  the  cathedral  church  of 
Durham,  where  they  were  placed  near  the  north  door.  He 
also  caused  monuments  to  be  erected  in  the  same  place  to  many 
of  his  ancestors,  from  Liulph  down  to  his  own  time.  This 
solemn  arrangement  of  effigies  cannot  be  visited  without  deep 
emotion  by  those  who  know  the  family,  descended  of  an  illus- 
trious race  of  ancestry,  or  have  traced  their  history  and  posses- 
sions. 

Shields  Geordies. 

The  by-name  given  by  the  sailors  of  other  English  ports  to 
those  belonging  to  the  port  of  Shields. 


POPULAR  KHYMES,  ETC.,  EELATING  TO  DURHAM.  71 

Bad-weather  Geordie  is  the  name  given,  on  the  coasts  of 
Durham  and  Northumberland,  to  the  evil  submarine  spirit  who, 
as  occasion  serves  him,  raises  dreadful  storms  at  sea,  and,  as  a 
consequence,  causes  the  tears  of  the  widow  and  orphan  often- 
times to  flow.  The  northern  sailor,  when  he  hears  the  cry  of 
"  Cockles  alive ''  on  a  dark  wintry  night,  concludes  that  a 
storm  is  at  hand,  and  he  secretly  ''breathes  a  prayer  backwai'd 
for  the  soul  of '  Bad-weather  Geordie.'  ""^ 

The  by-name  of  Geordie  is,  I  am  told,  also  given  to  the 
sailors  of  the  port  of  Newcastle-upon-Tyne. 

Sunderland  Jammies. 
A  by-name  given  to  the  Sunderland  sailors. 

Drive  Hawky,  car'  Hawky, 

Drive  Hawky  thro'  the  watter ; 

Our  Hawky's  but  a  little  cow, 

She's  sometimes  flaid  to  wade  the  watter  : 

Tak'  her  up,  and  set  her  through, 

Car  Hawky  thro'  the  watter. 

A  pitman  on  the  banks  of  the  Wear,  opposite  to  Hylton 
Castle,  had  a  very  handsome  wife,  and,  when  the  river  was 
swollen  with  rain,  her  husband — good  soul ! — used  to  carry  her 
through  the  water  on  his  back  to  a  summer-house  near  to 
Hylton  Castle.  A  song  was  made  on  the  occasion,  a  fragment 
of  which  is  preserved  in  the  text ;  and  Mr.  Hylton  (the  good 
and  last  Baron),  hearing -his  fool  sing  this  song,  asked  who 
taught  him  it  ?  "What  wad  ye?"  was  the  fool's  answer;  and 
neither  entreaties,  threats,  nor  beatings  could  gain  any  further 
answer. 

Notwithstanding  the  above  is  wrapped  in  mystery,  I  fancy 

*  This  sentence  is  from  Chatto's  Rambles  in  Northumberland,  p.  207. 
"  Bad- weather  Geordie  "  is  merely  the  vendor  of  cockles. — J.  H. 


72  THE  dp:nham  tracts. 

that  I  can  see  something  in  the  shape  of  an  amour  betwixt  the 
last  of  the  Hyltons  of  Hylton  Castle  and  the  pitman's  wee 
wifie.  Mr.  Longstaffe  {Arch.  yEliana)  says,  "  The  rhyme  is 
an  alteration  of  a  well-known  Scotch  song  about  a  cow  whose 
pet  name — a  common  one  for  her  species — was  Hawkey." 

He's  a  Winlater. 
This  saying  may  be  illustrated  by  using  the  parallel  saying 
of  Cumberland,  ''  He's  a  Bewcastler  " — i.e.  a  bad  one. 

Cicely  of  Raby, 
Never  so  good  a  lady. 

She  was  the  youngest  child  of  Ralph  Neville,  Earl  of  West- 
moreland, who  had  twenty  other  children.  She  married 
Richard  Duke  of  York,  and  was  mother  to  two  of  the  three 
kings  of  England  belonging  to  the  House  of  York,  and  grand- 
mother to  the  other.  Elizabeth,  her  grandchild,  married 
Henry  VII.  She  lived  thirty  years  a  widow,  and  died  in  the 
tenth  year  of  King  Henry  VII.  a.d.  mccccxcy. — See  Fuller's 
Worthies. 

While  we  were  sleeping,  we  three  babes  were  slain  ; 
And  here  we  sleep,  till  we  must  rise  again. 

Under  a  slightly  varied  form  these  verses  are  given  on  the 
tomb  of  John,  Jane,  and  Elizabeth  Brass,  who  were  murdered 
by  their  father's  servant,  Andrew  Mills.  To  commemorate  this 
torrid  tragedy  an  altar-tomb  was  erected  in  j\Ierrington  church- 
yard. This  monument,  having  fallen  somewhat  into  decay,  was 
restored  by  subscription  in  1789.  The  whole  inscription  ran 
thus : — 

Here  lies  the  bodies  of  John,  Jane,  and  Elizabeth  Brass, 
children  of  John  and  Margaret  Brass,  who  were  murthered  by 
their  father's  servant,  January  xxv.  168|. 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  DURHAM.  73 

Reader,  remember,  sleeping  we  were  slain, 
And  here  we  sleep  till  we  must  rise  again. 

Whoso  sheddetli  man's  blood,  by  man  shall  his  blood  be  shed. 
Thou  shalt  do  no  murder. 

Mills  was  executed  on  the  15th  day  of  August,  mdclxxxiii, 
on  what  was  then  a  common,  by  the  roadside,  about  half- a- mile 
to  the  north  of  Ferry  Hill,  in  full  view  of  the  scene  of  murder. 
He  was  afterwards  hung  in  chains  (?) 

Why  they,  the  children  of  Brass,  should  (in  the  text)  be 
called  babes  I  cannot  see,  their  ages  being  Jane  20,  John  18, 
and  Elizabeth  11  years  ;  but  probably  it  was  from  their  living 
under  their  father's  roof  at  the  period  of  their  awful  death. 

The  dwelling-house  of  Brass  stands  a  few  fields  to  the  north 
of  the  lane  leading  from  Merrington  to  Ferry  Hill,  on  the 
northern  brow  of  the  hill.  The  house,  a  substantial  farmhold, 
may  seem  to  be  exactly  in  the  same  state  as  in  mdclxxxiii. 
A  portion  of  the  gibbet,  or,  as  it  was  locally  called,  "  Andrew 
Mills'  Stob,"  existed  within  living  memory,  until  it  fell  before 
the  plough ;  which,  however,  only  anticipated  its  destruction 
a  few  years,  as  it  was  in  a  fair  way  of  being  cut  down  piece- 
meal, under  the  effects  of  a  superstitiously  ignorant  belief  in 
its  efficacy  as  a  charm  against  ague  and  toothache. 

BoxNY  Bobby  Shaftoe. 

Tradition  states  that  this  bishoprick  characteristic,  and  the 
following  still  more  popular  song,  had  their  origin  on  occasion 
of  the  excessive  love  of  Miss  Bellasyse,  the  heiress  of  Brance- 
peth,  for  Robert  Shaftoe,  Esq.,  of  Whitworth,  for  whom  we 
are  also  told  on  the  same  authority,  she  died  for  love.  A  por- 
traiture of  this  favoured  lover  is  preserved  in  the  mansion  at 
Whitv/orth  Park,  in  which  he  is  represented  not  only  as  very 


74  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

young  and  handsome,  but  also  with  yellow  hair.     Here  follows 
the  sono;:  — 

Bobby  Shaftoe's  bright  and  fair, 
Combing  down  his  yellow  hair ; 
He's  my  ain  for  iwermair, 
Hey  for  Bobby  Shaftoe. 

Bobby  Shaftoe's  gone  to  sea, 
Wi'  silver  buckles  at  his  knee  ; 
When  he  comes  back  he'll  marry  me, 
Bonny  Bobby  Bhaftoe. 

At  election  periods,  whenever  one  of  this  family  is  a  can- 
didate, the  following  addition  is  given,  with  the  occasional  still 
further  addition  of  a  still  more  spurious  verse : — 

Bobby  Shaftoe's  looking  out, 
All  his  ribbons  flew  about, 
All  the  lasses  gave  a  shout — 
"  Hey  "  for  Bobby  Shaftoe ! 

Hee-landers. 

That  is,  highlanders.  The  whole  of  the  population  on  the 
banks  of  the  Tees,  above  Barnard  Castle,  are  so  designated  by 
the  lower  orders  of  the  masculine  gender  in  the  above-named 
town,  between  whom  and  their  more  civilised  neighbours  a 
deadly,  or  at  least  an  extremely  pugnacious  and  bloody,  feud 
has  existed  far  beyond  the  period  of  living  memory.  The 
writer  recollects,  once  upon  a  time,  being  eye-witness  to  one 
of  these  periodical  uproars,  which  generally  occurred  at  every 
fair  and  hiring  holden  at  Barnard  Castle ;  and  being  at  that 
period  only  a  young  youth,  he  was,  he  full  well  remembers, 
most  dreadfully  alarmed.  The  Barnard  Castle  tammy-weavers 
were,  however,  no  match  for  the  stout,  healthy,  brawny  lads  of 
Mickleton  Forest  and  Frith,  it  being  a  well-known  fact  that  it 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  DURHAM.  7o 

was  no  uncommon  occurrence  to  see  from  at  least  three  to. as 
manj  as  six  tammy-weavers  all  set,  like  as  many  butchers' 
dogs,  upon  one  Heelander,  who,  notwithstanding  the  serious 
odds  against  him,  often  proved  the  conqueror  !  Occasionally, 
when  the  Barney-Cassellers  could  muster  sufficiently  powerful, 
they  used  to  visit  Middleton  on  a  fair-day,  where  their  temerity 
generally  met  its  due  reward;  for  they  invariably  returned 
home  not  only  worsted,  but  covered  with  blood  and  bruises, 
and  occasionally,  also,  with  broken  bones. 

Although  an  occasional  outbreak  may  now  take  place  once 
in  the  course  of  two  or  three  years,  I  am  happy  to  say  that  (in 
the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century)  a  more  quiescent  spirit 
is  possessing  itself  of  the  Barney- Cassell  and  Teesdale  bodies, 
and  these  semi-feudal  outbreaks  are  fast  wearing  away. 

Lune  and  Penn, 
Fortune  and  Benn  ; 
Erastus  and  Johne, 
And  Bett  alone. 

A  jingling  rhyme  on  the  Christian  names  of  the  family  of 
Ambrose  Johnson,  of  Whorlton,  near  Barnard  Castle.  He  had 
three  sons — Benn,  Erastus,  and  John  ;  and  four  daughters— 
Pennington,  Elizabeth,  Eunice,  and  Fortune.  "  Pennington 
Johnson,  baptized  1681."  Mr.  Francis  Wycliffe  married 
Fortune  Johnson,  and  having  an  estate  unexpectedly  left  him 
by  his  wife's  brother  (who  favoured  ''  Fortune  "  above  the  rest 
of  his  sisters  and  brethren)  at  the  time  his  wife  gave  birth  to 
twins,  in  1710,  he  very  considerately  caused  them  to  be  bap- 
tized by  the  names  of  Favour  and  Fortune.  A  brother  of  these 
twins  came  to  extreme  poverty,  and  died  at  the  residence  of  his 
brother  in-law,  the  Rev.  Peter  Fisher,  vicar  of  Staindrop — so 
little  was  the  benefit  which  accrued  from  the  favour  shown  in 
giving  fortune. 


76  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 


Matthew  Lambert's  Mustardmek. 

This  is  the  Brafferton  name  for  the  Heron.  A  worthy 
agricultural  labourer,  who  lived  at  the  above-named  place,  had 
a  small  plot  of  mustard  growing  in  one  corner  of  his  little 
holding,  and  on  a  certain  day  he  expected  a  seedsman  from 
Darlington  to  view  and  purchase  the  produce.  On  that  day 
Matthew,  with  the  assistance  of  a  mate,  was  mending  his  fences, 
having  left  his  spouse,  Peggy,  with  instructions  to  call  to  him 
when  the  man  of  seeds  came.  No  summons,  however,  came  for 
a  long  time  ;  at  last  a  heron  flew,  unseen,  over  his  head,  on  its 
passage  from  Sandholm,  near  Ketton,  to  Morden-Carrs,  crying 
"Crake,  crake,  crake!""  "Let  me  away,"  quoth  he,  "no 
doubt  the  mustardman's  come ;  for  I  hear  my  wife  Peggy's 
voice  at  the  last." 

Lost  in  a  Wood,  like  Geordy  Potter  o'  Sadberge. 

Of  the  private  and  public  history  of  the  hero  of  this  well- 
known  bishoprick  saw,  little  or  nothing  has  descended .  to 
posterity,  further  than  that  he  was  a  pedlar,  and  had  his 
domicile  at  the  place  mentioned  in  the  text,  and  that  on  one 
occasion  he  was  (for  some  of  his  misdeeds,  no  doubt)  most 
unmercifully  whipped,  and  afterwards  placed  in  the  stocks,  in 
some  town  in  Yorkshire — mayhap  that  it  was  either  Hull  or 
Halifax — but  this  I  cannot  speak  to.  However,  while  suffering 
under  his  lack  of  liberty,  he,  poor  fellow !  contrived  means  to 
pen  a  loving  letter  to  his  still  more  loving  wife,  wherein  he 
described  himself  as  having  got  into  a  wood,  and  notwithstand- 
ing he  could  see  over  it,  and  also  through  it,  and  under  it,  yet, 
in  spite  of  his  teeth,  he  could  not  get  out  of  it ! 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  DURHAM.  77 

Rare  and  Popular  Rhymes,  Proverbs, 

Sayings,  Characteristics,  &c., 

&c.,  relating  to  certain 

Towns  and  Villages 

in  the  County  of 

Durham. 

Chester-le- Street  has  a  bonny  bonny  church, 

With  a  broach  upon  the  steeple, 
But  Chester-le-Street  is  a  dirty,  dirty  town, 

And  mair  shame  for  the  people. 

The  word  broach  is  nearly  peculiar  to  the  north  of  England 
The  ancient  celebrity  of  this  quondam  city,  recorded  in  the 
latter  clause  of  the  stanza,  is  equally  applicable  at  the  present 
day  as  it  was  three  or  four  hundred  years  ago. 

Out  o'  Bisho'  Brigg  into  Yorkshire. 

That  is,  "  out  of  the  frying-pan  into  the  fire,"  or  "  out  of 
God's  blessing  into  the  warm  sun." — Incidit  in  Scyllam  cupiens 
vitare  Charyhdim, 

Cox-Green's  a  bonny  place. 

Where  water  washes  clean. 
And  Painshaw's  on  a  hill. 

Where  we  have  merry  been. 

The  above  verse  forms  the  second  stanza  of  the  concludino; 
song  as  sung  by  the  captain  of  the  honourable  band  of  Gentle- 
men Sword-dancers  resident  in  the  vicinities  of  Sunderland 
and  the  City  of  Durham.  Cox  Green,  a  hamlet  on  the  Wear, 
five  miles  west  of  Sunderland.  Painshaw,  a  township  about 
three  miles  north-east  of  Houghton-Ie-Spring.  The  high 
grounds  command  extensive  prospects,  in  which  the  city  of 
Durham  and  Chester-le-Street  are  conspicuous  objects. 


<  0  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

Daklington. 
1.  To  take  Darnton  Trod.     Or,  May  take  Darnton  Trod. 

Spoken  of  one  who,  having  been  guilty  of  some  dishonest  or 
disreputable  act,  will  be  constrained  to  leave  his  accustomed, 
haunts  ;  and  yet  I  never  either  heard  or  read  that  this  ancient 
town  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  sanctuary.  It  is  more  than  pro- 
bable that  this  saying  originated  in  the  pristine  celebrity  of 
Darlington,  and  some  of  its  neighbouring  villages,  as  the 
rendezvous  of  a  few  of  the  most  celebrated  of  the  Knights 
of  the  Blade,  or  St.  Nicholas ;  in  modern  language,  yclept 
robbers  and  highwaymen.  Tradition  still  points  out  the  ancient 
wayside  inn  at  Baydale  Beck  as  being  a  sort  of  Palliard  for 
a  celebrated  clatch  of  thieves  known  by  the  name  of  Cotton's 
Gang.  This  inn,  too,  was  frequented  by  a  notorious  villain 
called  Sir  (notice  his  knighthood)  William  Brown  and  his 
retainers.  This  fellow,  in  desert  of  his  villainies,  was  hung  at 
Newcastle-upon-Tyne,  the  8th  August,  1743.  See  Loc.  Hist. 
Tab.  Book,  vol.  i.  p.  409;  vol.  ii.  p.  199.  {See  also  a  curious 
anecdote  of  Sir  William,  chronicled  on  page  ^'6).  These  Darnton 
worthies  and  their  avocation  have  been  submerged  in  the 
black-troop  of  modern  days,  and  these,  in  their  turn,  were  in 
a  great  measure  dispersed  on  the  appointment  of  a  regular 
police  force.  A  few  fast  fading  spirits  still  linger  round  their 
quondam  haunts. 

"  He  was  in  danger  of  being  robbed  about  Darnton  and 
Neesum  by  thieves  and  highwaymen." — 'Letter  of  Bishop  Cosin. 

2.  Wya  !  and  what  of  all  that?  Aw  saw  three  stirks  sell'd  i' 
Darnton  market  for  five  punds  a  piece,  as  big  as  churches ! 

A  gentle  retort,  made  use  of  in  the  western  parts  of  the  county 
of  Durham,  to  one  who  is  relating  the  wonderful  and  cheap 
purchases  made  by  himself,  or  others,  at  a  far  distant  fair. 


POrULAR  EHYMES,  ETC  ,  RELATING  TC  DURHAM.  79 

It  is  also  used  as  a  gibe  on  the  dialect  spoken  in  Darlington- 
shire  ;  the  chief  peculiarity  of  which  rests  in  the  pronunciation 
of  the  letter  R,  which  it  appears  that  we  possess  as  well  as  our 
more  northern  countrymen,  though  not  in  the  same  burring  or 
wharling  tone.  To  the  word  all  we  likewise  give  a  very  hard 
pronmiciation.  The  saying  is  also  much  used  in  Westmore- 
land and  the  north-west  corner  of  the  county  of  York ;  but,  like 
every  other  saying  of  a  reproachful  character,  rarely  in  that  of 
the  place  or  district  to  which  it  applies. 

3.  Deep  as  the  Hell-kettles. 

The  above  is  the  name  of  three  deep  pits  at  Oxen-le-Hall,  in 
the  parish  of  Darlington.  Many  fabulous  traditionary  stories 
are  told  of  them.  It  is  said  that  they  are  bottomless  ;  that  the 
water  is  hot  in  consequence  of  reverberation ;  that  geese  and 
ducks  thrown  therein  have  dived  through  subterranean  passages 
to  the  River  Tees,  &c.,  &c.,  &c.  Harrison  (1577)  calls  them 
"  three  little  poles,  which  the  people  call  the  Kettles  of  Hell,  or 
ye  Devil's  Kettles,  as  if  he  should  see  the  souls  of  sinfull  men 
and  women  in  them ;  they  adde  also  that  ye  spirits  oft  beene 
harde  to  cry  and  yell  about  them." 

4.  Barnaby  yea  !     Barnaby  nay  ! 

A  cart-load  of  hay,  whether  God  will  or  nay; 

Many  centuries  ago  the  owner,  or  occupier,  of  the  field  where 
the  Hell  Kettles  are  situate  was  going  to  lead  his  hay  on  the 
feast-day  of  St.  Bai'nabas  (11th  June)  ;  and,  on  being  remon- 
strated with  on  the  impiety  of  the  act  by  some  more  pious 
neighbour,  he  used  the  above  rhymes,  when  instantly  he,  his 
carts  and  horses,  were  all  swallowed  up  in  the  pools;  where 
they  may  still  be  seen,  on  a  fine  day  and  clear  water,  many 
fathoms  deep ! 


80  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

5.  Darnton,  where  the  wind  once  blew  a  dog's  tongue  out. 

This  truth  has  passed  into  a  saying,  and  is  explained  by  the 
fact  that  some  twenty  years  ago  that  portion  of  the  gilt  talbot 
(a  sign  by  the  way  which  projected  some  distance  over-head 
into  the  street)  having  become  corroded  through  the  effects  of 
old  age  and  the  weather,  was  blown  off  one  tremendously 
windy  market-day. — See  Mr.  Longstaffe's  elaborate  History  of 
Darlington. 

6.  Dirty  Darnton,  var.  Darnton-in-the-dirt. 

"  Darlington,  a  post  town,  is  remarkable  for  nothing  but  its 
dirt  and  a  high  stone  bridge  over  little  or  no  water." — Daniel 
de  Foe's  Tour. 

In  the  year  mdclxxix  James  Duke  of  York  (afterwards 
James  II.)  on  his  visiting  Scotland,  rested  one  night  in  Dar- 
lington, and  put  up  at  an  old  "mud  house"  in  Tubwell  Row; 
this  house  was  pulled  down  only  a  few  years  ago ;  a  panel 
therein  commemorated  the  royal  visit.  Tradition  says  that  the 
duke  looked  out  of  the  window  and  asked  what  place  it  was ;  a 
bystander  quickly  answered  that  it  was  " Darnton."  "Humph," 
quoth  he,  "  I  think  its  Darnton  i'  th'  Dirt !" 

Gateshead. 
1.  All  the  world  and  part  of  Gatesides. 
This  saying  is  applied  to  any  unusually  large  concourse  of 
people. 

2.  Gateshead;  a  dirty  lane  leading  to  Newcastle. 

This  descriptive  epithet,  though  modern,  is,  however,  as  old 
as  the  days  of  Charles  James  Fox.  The  town  of  Gateshead 
beinor  named  in  the  House  of  Commons,  a  proud  southern 
remarked,    "  Gateshead !  Gateshead !    where   is    Gateshead  ?  " 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  DURHAM.  8 1 

He  never,  it  would  appear,  having  heard  that  such  a  place 
existed  tiU  that  moment  of  time ;  to  which  query,  Mr.  Fox, 
who  had  travelled  further  north,  or,  at  all  events,  knew  more 
of  the  geography  of  the  bishoprick  than  his  haughty  compeer, 
replied,  "  Oh !  it's  a  long  dirty  lane  leading  into  Newcastle."— 
I.  F.     [The  late  Mr.  John  Fen  wick,  Newcastle.] 

3,  A  Shirrey  Moor. 

A  tumultuous  assemblage  of  people  [such  as  we  may  suppose 
when  all  the  world  and  part  of  Gateside  meet]  usual  on  Gates- 
head Fell  when  the  Judges  were  met  by  the  sheriff  on  what  is 
still  called  Sheriff  Hill. —  Brockett's  Glossary  of  North  Country 
Words. 

Till  I  met  with  the  above  interpretation  of  the  saying  I  had 
always  supposed  that  it  had  its  origin  in  the  battle  of  Sheriff- 
Muir,  where  all  was  blood,  uproar,  and  confusion ;  and  where, 
according  to  the  traditional  relation  of  another  of  these  dark 
sayings  of  antiquitie,  "  the  Scotchman  lost  his  father  and 
mother  and  his  gude  buff  belt  worth  them  both."  [Note  that 
the  belt  of  the  Highlandman  was  thoroughly  lined  with  good 
pieces  of  gold — i.e.,  guineas.] 

Barnard  Castle. 
1.  Carries  his  coals  round  by  Eichmond  to  sell  at  Barnard  Castle, 

This  saying  is  peculiar  to  the  central  and  mid-southern 
portions  of  the  county  of  Durham.  It  is  spoken  of  a  person 
who  is  guilty  of  a  circumlocutory  act. 

2.  Lartington  for  frogs, 

And  Barney  Castle  for  butchers'  dogs, 

Varia  : 

Lartington  frogs, 
And  Barney  Castle  butcher- dogs. 
G 


82  THE  DENHAM  TEACTS. 

The  latter  couplet  assumes  the  quality  of  an  undignified 
characteristic  applied  to  the  people  of  those  places.  The  former 
bespeaks  the  places  themselves  as  being  at  one  period,  and 
perhaps  justly,  celebrated  for  the  breed  and  number  of  those 
quadrupeds. 

"  That  other  nature  alauntz  of  bochery  is  suche  as  ze  may 
always  se  in  good  townes  that  beth  called  grete  bocher  dogges." 
— MSS.  of  Edmond  de  Langley,  son  of  Edward  III. 

The  bull-dogs  kept  by  the  butchers  of  Southampton  in  the 
reign  of  Henry  VII.,  for  the  purpose  of  baiting  bulls,  seem  to 
have  been  a  terror  to  the  town  from  being  allowed  to  run  about 
unmuzzled. 

3.  Barnard  Castle  Bridge  Wedding  Ehyme. 

My  blessing  on  your  pates, 

Your  groat's  in  my  purse ; 
You  are  never  the  better, 

And  I  am  never  the  worse. 

Alexander  Hylton,  curate  of  Denton,  of  the  ancient  family  of 
Hylton  of  Pyons  or  Dyance,  near  Piercebridge,  in  this  county, 
left  a  son  Cuthbert,  of  great  notoriety,  who  having  taken  orders 
in  no  Church,  but  having  been  trained  up  as  Bible-clerk  under 
his  father,  considered  himself  as  fully  competent  to  perform 
marriages  upon  the  bridge  of  Barnard  Castle  which  connects 
the  counties  of  York  and  Durham.  The  above  is  said  to  be  the 
rhyme  which,  after  having  first  made  the  parties  leap  over  a 
broomstick,  he  made  use  of  on  these  occasions.  But  in  fact  it 
is  evidently  nothing  more  than  a  parody  on  an  ancient  rhyme 
which  was  used  as  a  charm  by  reputed  witches  in  the  cure  of 
certain  diseases,  viz.: — 

Your  loaf  is  in  my  lap, 

And  your  penny  is  in  my  purse  ; 

You  are  never  the  better, 
And  I  am  never  the  worse. 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  DURHAM.  83 

4.  Bonny  Barney. 

Barnard  Castle  is  popularly  so-called,  but  the  alliterative  pro- 
priety would  not  only  be  greater,  but  also  truer,  if  it  were 
termed  Black  or  Blackguard  Barney. 

5.  Come  !  come  !  that's  Barney  Castle ! 

An  expression  often  uttered  when  a  person  is  heard  making  a 
had  excuse  in  a  still  icorse  cause. 

G.  Barnard  Castle  ;  the  last  place  that  God  made. 

This  derisive  saying  is  not  strictly  in  accordance  with  the  idea 
which  it  is  intended  to  convey.  The  fact  is,  that  Barnard 
Castle  is  surrounded  on  all  sides  with  extensive  pasture,  meadow, 
and  tillage  lands ;  whereas  the  proverb  conveys  to  the  stranger 
the  idea  that  it  is  situated,  as  it  were,  in  the  midst  of  a  vast 
howling  wilderness. —  [See  notes  to  the  poem  of  Roheby^  cant.  ii. 
No.  1.] 

I  have  heard  the  saying  applied  to  two  other  not  far  distant 
vills,  viz.,  Cockfield  and  Toft  Hill ;  and  in  both  of  the  latter 
cases  there  is  a  nearer  approach  to  the  figure  of  speech,  as  they 
are  both  mai'gined,  on  one  side  at  least,  by  extensive  ranges  of 
moorland. 

The  probability  is  great  that  the  same  saying  is  used,  varying 
only  as  regards  the  name  of  the  place,  in  almost  every  county 
in  Great  Britain.  In  fact  it  is  one  of  a  very  common-place 
character,  and  scarcely  deserving  of  notice  in  any  collection  of 
popular  archaeology. 

Barnard  Castle  for  a  long  series  of  years  has  been  celebrated 
for  the  manufacture  of  ginger-bread.  The  family  of  Monk- 
house  followed  the  trade  of  ginger-bread  bakers  for  several 
generations,  bringing  up  large  families  in  an  extremely  credit- 
able and  respectable  manner. 

g2 


84  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

Bj  ])arodying  the  quaint  old  rhyme  anent  Castor  and  Nor- 
wich, it  is  equally  true  and  applicable  of  Barnard  Castle  and 
Marwood.  The  town  of  Marwood  stood  close  to  the  present 
town  of  Barnard  Castle ;  the  only  remains  of  it  is  a  religious 
building,  now  converted  into  a  dwelling-house. 

Marwood  was  a  town  when  Barney  Castle  was  nane, 
And  Barney  Castle  was  built  wi'  Marwood  stane. 

!]^VENW00D. 

1.  Evenwood, 

Where  never  straight  tree  stood. 

The  prevailing  south-west  gales  have  full  sweep  over  the 
manor  of  Evenwood,  and  the  few  trees  that  appear  there  are 
generally  stunted  and  misshapen. 

The  village  of  Evenwood  is  situated  on  the  south  side  of  the 
Gaunless  river,  about  five  miles  west-south-west  of  Bishop 
Auckland. 

2.  You've  been  at  Evenwood,  where  never 
A  straight  tree  grew. 

Or,  occasionally  in  a  rhyming  form,  thus : — 

3.  You've  been  to  Evenwood, 

Where  straight  tree  never  stood. 

Said  of  a  person  with  an  extremely  crooked  staff. 

Sockburn,  where  Conyers  so  trusty 

A  huge  serpent  did  dish-up, 

That  had  else  eat  the  bish-up  : 
But  now  his  old  falchion's  grown  rusty, 
Grown  rusty. 

The  antiquity  of  this  rhyme  is  very  much  questioned  by 
northern  antiquaries,  who  tell  us  that  the  late  Robert  Surtees, 
Esq.,  of  Mainsforth,  was  the  father  of  more  than  one  rhyme  of 


POPULAR  EHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  DURHAM.  85 

similar  cliaraeler.  Well !  and  what  if  he  truly  were  so ! 
Ehymes  and  Proverbs  do  not,  like  mushrooms,  spring  out  of 
the  earth ;  some  one  or  other  has  either  spoken  or  written  them 
all ;  and  I  can  see  no  sufficient  reason  to  object  against  Mr. 
Surtees,  or  any  other  modern,  writing  a  local  rhyme,  as 
well  as  the  "  oulde  aunciente  faders  of  Antiquitie,"  as  Master 
"Wynkyn  de  "Worde  would  call  them. 

In  connection  with  the  above  verses,  there  is  a  very  singular 
legend  and  custom,  both  of  which  are  to  be  met  with  in  any  of 
the  County  Histories  or  Gazetteers.  [The  "  Sockburn  Sword" 
under  the  name  of  the  "  Conjers  Falchion,^'  is  figured  in  Arch. 
ySliana,  N.s.  vol.  xv.  plates  xx.  xxi.  xxii.  (pp.  214-7)  1891. 

Kain  in  April,  rain  in  May, 

Or  Mainsforth  farewell  [to]  corn  and  hay. 

Mainsforth  stands  on  a  dry  gravelly  soil,  and  requires  fre- 
quent moisture.  Its  situation  is  extremely  open  and  airy.  It 
is  three  miles  north-west  of  Sedgefield. 

Sedgepield. 

1.  I've  been  as  far  travelled  as  Sedgefield, 
Where  the  folks  call  strea — Straw  ! 

Sedgefield,  a  small  market-town,  is  situated  about  eleven 
miles  south-south-east  of  Durham.  It  is  considered  a  remark- 
ably healthy  parish.     Dr.  Askew  called  it  the 

2.  Montpellier  of  the  North. 

To  meet  with  persons  here  of  80,  90,  or  even  100  years  of 
age,  is  no  uncommon  circumstance. 

3.  To  go  at  a  thing,  like  a  Sedgefield  Hunt. 
Kot  knowing  the  peculiarities  of  the    sportsmen  of  Sedge- 
field, I  am  sorry  that  I  am  unable  to  illustrate  this  bishoprick 
saying. 


8b*  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

4.  A  Sedgefield  Chap. 
The  Knave  of  Clubs.     I  am  ignorant  that  Sedgefield  is  any 
more  proverbial  for  the  vulgarity  of  the  lower  orders  of  its 
inhabitants  than  any  other  town  of  similar  size. 


Varied,  to 


Go  to  Shields 
And  fish  for  eels. 

And  shave  Ducks. 


Another  equally  inelegant  bishoprick  malediction.  {See 
page  46.) 

In  the  localities  surrounding  the  palace  of  Falkland,  N.B., 
are  traditionally  preserved  many  old  sayings,  which  the  guid 
folks  of  the  present  generation  attribute  to  the  ancient  denizens 
of  the  royal  domain.  "  Fruchie,  a  little  village  about  a  mile 
from  the  palace,  was  assigned  as  a  place  of  temporary  banish- 
ment and  penance  for  courtiers  who  had  incurred  the  royal 
displeasure ;  and  hence,  it  is  said,  the  common  ejaculation, 
when  any  one  wishes  to  get  rid  of  an  obnoxious  person,  '  Gro  to 
Fruchie,'  which  is  certainly  a  much  more  civil  mandate  than 
many  maledictions  enunciated  in  modern  days." — Castles  and 
Prisons  of  Mary  of  Scotland. 

Ovington  Edge  and  Cockfield  Fell 

Are  the  coldest  spots  'twixt  Heaven  and  Hell. 

Ovington  is  a  village  near  Greta  Bridge,  in  Yorkshire. 
Cockfield  is  near  Staindrop,  in  the  bishoprick  of  Durham. 
They  are  both  lofty  and  extremely  exposed  places. 

Like  Dalton  bell-rope. 

That  is,  a  deed  half-done.  A  story  is  told  how,  after  many 
vestry  meetings  liolden  by  the  principal  inhabitants  of  this  place 
to  take  into  consideration  the  propriety  of  purchasing  a  new 


POPULAE  RHYMES,  ETC,  RELATING  TO  DURHAM.  87 

rope  for  the  one  bell  of  their  parish  church,  the  churchwardens 
and  ratepayers  at  last  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  old  one 
should  be  spliced.  [A  similar  story  is  told  of  Ancroft  bell-rope. 
Ancroft  is  in  North  Durham.] 

An  otter  in  the  Wear  you  may  find  but  once  a  year, 
But  an  otter  in  the  Tees  you  may  find  at  your  ease. 

Otters  are  by  no  means  uncommon  in  the  Tees  at  the  present 
day;  and,  if  we  grant  the  rhyme  a  little  license,  it  is,  to  a 
certain  extent,  true. 

Fuller  says  that  an  otter  is  as  destructive  to  fish  as  the  wolf 
is  to  sheep.  In  Ireland  the  country  people  call  the  otter  the 
Devil's  water  dog. 

May  the  Tees  prove  a  Teazer  to  the  Tyne  akd  to  the  Thames. 

A  very  allowable  bishoprick  wish.  It  is  curious  for  its 
alliteration. 

To  Warn  the  Water. 

To  warn — i.e.,  to  give  notice. 

This  peculiarly  local  expression  is  only  heard  in  the  lower  or 
eastern  vales  of  the  river  Tees — a  stream  which,  from  the 
rapidity  of  its  upper  course,  and  from  the  numerous  tributary 
rivers  and  smaller  streams  it  receives  in  its  passage  down  to  the 
village  of  Croft,  often  rises  very  suddenly,  and  occasionally  to 
the  depth  of  nine,  and  even  more,  extra  feet  of  water.  The 
consequence  was  that,  at  a  not  very  distant  period,  an  inhabi- 
tant of  Hurworth,  who  we  may  term  the  Warner  of  the  Water, 
was  usually  despatched  to  Yarm,  to  give  the  inhabitants  of  that 
toAvn  notice  of  its  approach.  On  the  morning  of  Sunday,  the 
17th  November,  1771,  the  whole  town  of  Yarm — (not  so  much* 
as  a  single  house  excepted) — was  laid  under  water.  Six  dwell- 
ing-houses were  totally  demolished  and  seven  persons  drowned. 


88  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

In  the  medieval  period  a  warning  of  the  waters,  in  the 
distant  vales  of  Northumberland,  was  a  warning  of  a  very 
opposite  character ;  and  was  used  to  give  notice  of  the  approach 
of  their  Scottish  neighbours  when  making  an  inroad  in  search 
of  the  beeves  and  muttons  of  the  equally  thievish  Northumbrians, 
in  the  ballad  of  Jamie  Telfer,  old  Buccleuch  is  made  to  say : 

Gar  warn  the  water  braid  and  wide, 
Warn  "Wat  o'  Harden  and  his  sons, 
Wi'  them  will  Borthwick  water  ride. 

In  the  ballad  of  Hobbie  Noble  we  also  meet  with  the  following 
illustration : 

Gar  warn  the  bows  of  Hartlie-burn, 
See  they  sharp  arrows  on  the  wa'  ; 

Warn  Willeva  and  Spear  Edom, 
And  see  the  morn  they  meet  me  a'. 

When  Roseberry  Topping  wears  a  hat, 
Morden-Carrs  will  suffer  for  that. 

Near  and  adjoining  unto  Morden,  an  extensive  manor  within 
the  parish  of  Sedgefield,  lies  that  large  level  called  the  Carrs, 
containing  many  hundred  acres.  In  winter  this  track  is  fre- 
quently overflowed,  and  then  forms  an  immense  sheet  of  water ; 
at  which  time  vast  flocks  of  wild  geese,  and  ducks,  &c.,  &c., 
resort  thither.  The  river  Skerne,  which  Hollinshed  is  pleased 
to  term  a  "  pretie  water,"  has  its  source  in  this  marsh  near 
Trimdon,  in  the  parish  of  Kelloe. 

Jarrow. 

1 .  Bump  against  Jarrow. 

This  is  a  common  proverbial  expression  amongst  keelmen 
and  others  when  they  run  foul  of  anything. 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  DURHAM.  89 

The  laddie  ran  sweaten,  ran  sweaten, 

The  laddie  ran  sweaten  about, 
Till  the  keel  went  bump  against  Jarrow, 

And  three  of  the  bullies  lap  out. 

Song,  The  Little  Pee  Dee. 

2.  It's  never  Dark  in  Jarrow  Church. 

This  is  one  of  the  monkish  fables  with  which  the  counties  of 
Durham  and  Northumberland  abound,  and  the  saying  has  no 
doubt  been  handed  down  from  an  extremely  early  period. 

Hartlepool,  where  the  man  was  smoored  to  death 
Sinking  for  a  draw-well  in  his  father's  backside. 

The  above  singular  phrase  is  valuable  if  only  as  an  illustration 
of  the  word  "  backside,"  as  used  in  the  dialects  of  the  north  of 
England.  This  half -laughable  tragedy  actually  befel  the  person 
of  one  Nicholas  "Ward,  the  10th  February,  1715-16,  and  stands 
recorded  in  one  of  the  register-books  belonging  to  Hartlepool 
Church. 

Headlam  Hens  lay  twice  a  day. 

A  gentle  hint  in  the  place  of  one  more  discourteous :  to  wit, 
that  of  telling  a  person  he's  a  liar.  Headlam,  a  small  village 
in  the  extensive  Saxon  parish  of  Gainford. 

A  Brussleton  Ceacker. 

Brussleton,  a  small  hamlet,  near  West  Auckland.  This  say 
ing  is  derived  from  the  fact  that  the  coals  dug  from  the  mines 
at  this  place,  being  so  full  of  pyrites  (vidgo,  crackers),  are  con- 
tinually exploding  and  casting  forth  their  sulphureous  perfumes, 
to  the  great  dread  and  anno}?ance  of  every  one  sitting  round  the 
hearthstone.  It  is  also  applied  to  a  variety  of  other  sorts  of 
explosions. 


90  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

Up  wi'  leede,*  and  down  wi'  breede,f 
Is  what  we  drink  at  Wardale|  Heede.§ 

As  the  rhyme  stands  in  the  text  the  sense  is  extremely 
indefinite ;  but  if  we  give  the  word  want  in  lieu  of  that  of 
drink,  we  arrive  at  what  we  may  suppose  to  be  the  wishes  of 
the  inhabitants,  who  are  nearly  all  lead-miners,  and  at  the 
sense  too. 

Varia : 

Dear  lead  and  cheap  bread 

Makes  full  pockets  at  "Weardale  Head. 

Since  writing  the  above  note  I  have  consulted  a  literary 
friend,  long  resident  in  Weardale,  who  tells  me  that  he  has 
often  heard  the  rhyme  quoted  as  it  stands  at  the  head  of  this 
article.  He  further  says,  "  It's  real  meaning  you  will  more 
readily  understand  by  putting  it  thus : 

Up  wi'  leede,  and  down  wi'  breede, 

Is  the  toast  we  drink  at  Wardale  Heede  ; 

and  I  hope  that  this  will  prove  satisfactorily  to  you  that  the  poor 
fell-side  folks  neither  drink  their  leede  nor  yet  their  breede." 

This  local  rhyme  reminds  me  of  the  still  more  popular  one 
spoken  of  the  Cobbler's  Wife,  viz.: — 

The  meal  cheap,  and  shoon  dear. 
The  cobbler's  wife  likes  well  to  hear. 


Hungry- Heaton. 

This  name  is  popularly  given  to  the  village  of  Hutton-Honry, 
near  Monk  Hesleton.     The  reason  I  know  not. 

*  Lead.         t  ^read.         f  Weardale.         §  Head. 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  DURHAM.  91 

From  Axwell  Park  to  Sliotley, 

A  squirrel  could  leap  from  tree  to  tree. 

Axwell  Park,  in  the  townsliip  of  Winlatoii  and  parish  of 
Eyton,  is  the  seat  of  the  family  of  Clavering,  descendants  of 
Serlo  de  Burg,  a  follower  of  William  the  Conqueror. 

By  Shotley  we  must  understand  Shotley  Bridge,  on  the  south 
side  of  the  river  Derwent,  in  the  township  of  Benfieldside  and 
parish  of  Lanchester. 

Living  witnesses,  I  have  been  told,  still  exist  who  can  attest 
the  fact  recorded  in  the  rhymes. 

[To  this  there  are  two  Scotch  parallels : 


And: 


From  Bathket  moss  to  Barbachlee 
Ane  cat  could  loup  frae  tree  to  tree. 

From  Culbirnie  to  the  sea 

You  may  step  from  tree  to  tree. — J.  H.] 


Durham-"— THE  most  Northern  County  in  England. 

At  no  distant  period,  not  only  Xorthallerton,  Craike,  and 
Howdenshire  in  Yorkshire,  belonged  to  this  county  but  also 
Bedlingtonshire,  N  orhamshire  and  Islandshire,  on  the  north  and 
north-east  of  Northumberland  ;  the  two  latter  districts  including 
the  following  five  parishes :  Ancroft,  Holy  Island  or  Lindisfarne, 
Kyloe,  Norham,  and  Tweedmouth. 

A  Sunderland  Ball. 

A  saying  used  at  the  noble  and  manly  game  of  cricket.  It  is 
also  varied  to  a  ''  Newcastle  Ball,"  i.e.,  a  bad  one. 

Binchester  Pennies. 
Binchester,  near  Bishop  Auckland,  is  the  site  of  a  Roman 


92  THE  DEXHAM  TKACTS. 

city.  Ancient  copper  coins  are  continually  found  here  which 
the  neighbouring  people  call  Binchester  pennies.  Similar  coins 
found  at  Piersbridge  [the  Magis  ad  Tisam  or  Condatum  of  the 
Romans]  are  called  toft  pieces  or  pennies.  In  Hampshire  they 
are  called  07i{on  pennies ;  in  Northamptonshire  coster  or  caster 
])ence ;  at  Tadcaster,  Yorkshire,  Langharrow  pennies ;  and  in 
the  neigbourhood  of  Leeds^  Saracen's  heads. 

I  GAVE  HIM  [or  her]  WASHINGTON. 

That  is,  did  my  work  quickly  and  roughly.  But  as  to 
whether  it  alludes  to  the  village  of  that  name  in  the  bishopric 
or  the  celebrated  General  Washington  I  dare  not  at  present 
decide.     The  saying  is  very  common  in  the  north  of  England. 

BeNFIELDSIDE,    WHERE  THE  DeVIL  STOLE  THE  KeY  OF  THE    QuAKERs' 

Meeting-House. 
Benfieldside,  in  the  parish  of  Lanchester,  is  celebrated  as  the 
site  of  one  of  the  earliest  Quaker  meeting-houses  in  England. 


Varia 


Hang-Bank,  Legs-Cross,  and  Bildershaw, 
Make  many  a  horse  to  pufF  and  blaw. 

Legscross  Hill  and  Bildershaw, 
Make  many  a  horse  to  piifF  and  blaw. 


Three  long  and  lofty  hills,  the  former  near  Melsonby  in  York- 
shire and  the  other  between  Piersebridge  *  and  West  Auckland 
in  the  bishopric.  Upon  the  top  of  Legs- Cross  Hill  is  a  curious 
memorial  stone,  or  rather  stones,  for  there  are  thrti  ,  and  on 
this  spot  tradition  says  at  a  very  early  period  two  Kings  of 
England  and  Scotland  signed  a  League  or  Treaty  of  Peace. 
Hence  the  corrupted  name.  It  is  also  said  that  from  this  Cross 
King  James  I.  of  England  viewed  Baby  Castle  and  pronounced 
it  to  be  the  fairest  castle  in  his  dominions. 

*  The  author  lived  at  Piersebridge. 


POPULAR  IIHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  DURHAM.  93 


Bishop  Auckland  i'  Bisho'brigg,  God  help  me  ! 

Bishop  Auckland  used  at  no  very  distant  period  to  be  pro- 
verbiallj  famous  for  beggars  and  thieves.  Almost  every  beggar 
if  asked  where  he  came  from  used  to  answer  in  a  most  pitiful 
tone  that  he  came  from  Bishop  Auckland.  It  even  still 
retains  a  little  of  its  quondam  celebrity.  Many  parallel  pro- 
verbs exist,  viz.: — 

Saffron  Walden,  God  help  me  ! 
Binsey,  God  help  me  ! 
Tickhill,  God  help  me ! 


When  there's  never  a  hare  on  Garmondsway  Moor, 
In  Bishop-Middleham  there's  never  a  whoore. 

The  rhyme  does  not  speak  very  favourably  of  certain  fair 
dames  in  Middleham  in  county  Dunelm. 

BiSHOP-MlDDLEHAM  ;    WHERE  MlGHT  RULES  ElGHT. 

It  is  probable  this  saying  had  its  origin  in  the  Commonwealth 
period.  Tradition  still  tells  a  story  how  John  Brabant,  a 
soldier  in  Cromwell's  army,  came  with  a  file  of  soldiers  to  eject 
the  old  vicar  who  had  held  the  living  full  forty  years.  His 
parishioners,  however,  we  are  told  fought  right  valiantly  on  the 
occasion  and  got  possession  of  the  pulpit,  which  they  looked 
upon  as  their  chief  stronghold.  Brabant  made  a  soldierlike 
retreat  into  the  chancel,  where,  mounting  the  communion-table 
and  placing  a  brace  of  horse-pistols  by  his  side,  he  there  stood 
and  preached  a  long  sermon.  After  this  event  Brabant  retained 
possession  of  not  only  the  pulpit  but  also  what  he  no  doubt 
would  esteem  more  highly  the  proceeds  of  the  living. 


94  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

Eound  about  Ferry-Hill,  Hey  for  Hett, 
There's  mony  a  bonny  lass,  but  few  to  get. 

A  rhyme  extremely  opposite  to  the  one  above  given.  Ferry- 
Hill  and  Hett  are  two  villages  at  no  great  distance  from 
Durham. 

As  to  the  rare  predilection  of  the  lasses  of  these  two  localities 
for  the  happy  state  of  single-blessedness,  I  can  in  no  form  or 
fashion  rationally  account,  but  will  not  omit  making  inquiries 
into  the  truthfulness,  &c.,  of  the  rhyme  the  first  time  I  am  in 
either  of  those  maidish  districts. 

Trimdon  Trough-legs  stands  on  a  hill, 
Poor  silly  Fishburn  stands  stock-still ; 
Butterwick  walls  are  like  to  fall, 
But  Sedgefield  is  the  flower  o'  them  all. 

The  village  of  Trindon,  as  the  rhyme  hints,  stands  on  a  hill, 
and  is  situated  about  three  and  a-half  miles  north-east  of  Sedge- 
field.  Tradition  says  that  it  was  here  King  Canute  and  his 
suite  doffed  their  shoon  and  trimmed  their  beards,  and  had  their 
polls  shorn,  ere  they  set  out  on  pilgrimage  to  the  shrine  of  St. 
Cuthbert  at  Durham.  Fishburn  is  rather  a  pretty  village  in  the 
parish  of  Sedgefield.  The  hamlet  of  Butterwick  is  also  situated 
in  the  same  parish.  Sedgefield,  a  large  and  highly  respectable 
village,  or  rather  decayed  market-town,  stands  pleasantly  and 
healthfully  on  a  prominent  swell  of  gravel  ground,  open  to  every 
aspect.  The  whole  of  the  adjacent  lands  are  in  a  very  high 
state  of  cultivation. 

A  "Walk  to  Hendon  Gardens, 

A  walk  to  meet  a  sweetheart  at  this  spot  of  assignation.  The 
Hendon  Gardens  lie  to  the  south  of  Sunderland.  There  used  to 
be  a  Lover  s  Walk  between  the  gardens  and  Hendon  forty  years 
ago  ! 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  DURHAM.  93 

A  Crow  shall  sit  upon  Bolani  Cross  and  drink  blood  a  yard  high. 

A  foolish  old  proj)hecy,  which  tradition  ascribes  to  Mother 
Shipton,  the  Yorkshire  witch,  who,  in  common  with  Robin 
Goodfellow,  Oliver  Cromwell,  and  the  Devil,  has  more  laid 
to  her  charge  than  she  was  guilty  of. 

(1)  The  popular  version  gives  "has  to  "  instead  of  "  shall." 

A  COLLECTION  OF  BISHOPKICK  RHYMES,  PEOVERBS, 

AND  SAYINGS,  IN  CONNEXION  WITH  THE 

BORDEE  AND  FEUDAL  PEEIODS. 

"  We  live  hy  Rapine^ — The  Mosstrooper's  Motto. 

Well-i-wa,  sal  ys  homes  blaw, 

Haly-rode  this  day  ; 
Now  es  he  dede,  and  lies  law, 

Was  wont  to  blaw  them  ay. 

Variorum  reading — 

Wei,  qwa  sal  thir  homes  blau, 

Haly  Eod  thi  day  ? 
Now  is  he  dede  and  lies  law 
Was  wont  to  blaw  thaim  ay*^ 

Sir  Cuthbert  Sharp  in  his  BisJiopricJc  Garland  observes,  "  that 
this  is  the  oldest  genuine  rhyme  connected  with  the  county  of 
Durham.  It  is  a  lamentation  on  the  death  of  Eobert  Neville, 
Lord  of  Raby,  in  the  year  mcclxxxii,  in  allusion  to  the  ancient 
custom  of  offering  a  stag  at  the  high  altar  of  Durham  Priory  on 
Holy-rood  Day  (Sept.  18),  which  ceremony  was  accompanied  by 
the  winding  of  horns.  There  is  no  doubt  whatever  but  that  the 
above  rhyme  is  as  old  as  the  thirteenth  century,  yet  to  call  it 
'  the  very  oldest  rhyme  of  the  north  '  is  all  but  ridiculous.  True, 
it  is  the  "  most  auncientest  "  which  has  been  handed  down  to  us 


96  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

in  its  genuine  antique  English  dress,  and  for  this  we  must  thank 
some  good  scribe  of  oulden  time.  Yet  we  have  many  others, 
which  have  not  been  so  fortunate  as  to  meet  with  a  nourice  of 
antiquities  to  chronicle  them  in  a  bake,  which  I  question  not  can 
boast  of  a  much  earlier  origin,  and  which,  I  feel  confident, 
neither  Mr.  Surtees  nor  yet  Sir  Cuthhert  Sharp  {our  righte  loorthie 
bishoprick  knyghte,  and  popular  archaeologist)  would  have  written 
down  as  juniors  of  the  one  quoted  in  the  text." 

A  Weardale  Wolf. 

A  reproach  rather  uncharitably  bestowed  on  the  male  portion 
of  the  population  of  that  district  of  the  county  of  Durham. 

"  Thir  Weardale  men,  they  have  good  hearts, 

They  are  as  stiff  as  any  tree, 
For,  if  they'd  every  man  been  slain, 

Never  a  foot  back  man  would  flee. 

Ballad  of  the  RooTchope  Hyde. 

At  present  the  men  of  Weardale  bear  the  still  more  undignified 
title  of  "  Weardale  Gowks." 

1.  Bellasis,  Bellasis,  base  was  thy  sowl, 

When  thou  exchanged  Bellasis  for  Henknowl. 

2.  Bellasys,  Bellasys,  daft  was  thy  sowel. 
When  exchanged  Bellasys  for  Henknowel. 

3.  Johnny  tuth  Bellas,  daft  was  thy  poll, 
When  thou  chang'd  Bellas  for  Henknoll. 

4.  Belasise,  Belassis,  daft  was  thy  nowle. 
When  thou  gave  Bellassis  for  Henknowle. 

5.  Bellasys,  Be'lysys,  base  was  thy  sowel, 
When  exchanged  Bellysys  for  Henknowell. 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  DURHAM.  97 

A  version  of  the  foregoing  rhymes  is  preserved  in  a  window  in 
the  fine  old  parish  church  of  St.  Andrew,  Auckland,  inscribed  on 
a  belt,  encircling  the  arms  of  the  Bellasis  family.  The  popular 
traditional  version  of  the  neighbourhood  is  recorded  in  reading 
three.  Numbers  four  and  five  are  the  readings  of  Collins  and 
Hutchinson  respectively. 

In  1380  a  commission  was  granted  empowering  the  con- 
vent of  Durham  to  exchange  with  Bellasis,  Henknoll,  near 
Auckland,  for  lands  near  Wolviston.  The  exchange  was  favour' 
able  to  the  church.  John  de  Bellasys  having  made  a  vow  to  go 
upon  the  Crusades,  and  a  strong  affection  for  his  native  place  of 
Bellasys  prevailing,  likely  to  stagger '  his  pious  resolutions,  he 
determined  to  shake  off  that  yoke,  root  out  all  partialities,  and 
part  with  the  estate  of  his  ancestors,  the  regard  for  which  stood 
in  competition  with  his  imaginary  virtues. 

Short  Red  is  good  Eed  ;  slea  ye  the  Bishop. 

So  intolerable  were  the  severities  exercised  by  Walcher,  Bishop 
of  Durham,  in  his  civil  and  ecclesiastical  government,  that  he 
became  odious  to  the  people.  On  the  14th  of  May,  1780, 
he  held  a  public  assembly  of  his  council  and  clergy  at  Gates- 
head, where  a  number  of  the  people  met  to  revenge  the  death  of 
a  popular  Saxon  noble  and  his  family,  he  murderers  of  whom 
Walcher  allowed  to  go  unpunished.  The  multitude,  rejecting 
all  proposals,  beset  the  house  with  loud  clamour,  and  the  above 
sentence  being  pronounced  as  a  watchword,  they  drew  their 
arms  and  butchered  all  the  guards.  The  bishop  retreated  to  the 
church,  but  the  infuriated  people  set  fire  to  it  and  put  every  one 
to  death  who  attempted  to  escape.  The  prelate  was  the  last 
to  fly,  and,  having  put  up  a  prayer  to  Heaven,  he  advanced 
towards  the  multitude  and  was  instantly  pierced  to  the  heart 
with  a  lance ;  after  which,  his  death  not  staying  their  barbarity, 

H 


98  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

they  inhumanly  mangled  his  body  with  their  swords.  The 
modern  reading  of  the  above  proverb  is,  "  Short  counsel  is  good 
counsel;  slayye  the  bishop.^'' 

A  coward  !  a  coward  !  o'  Barney  Castle, 
Dare  na'  come  out  to  fight  a  battle  ! 

This  saying,  which  is  very  common,  in  all  probability  refers 
to  the  "  Eising  in  the  North,"  1569,  and  might  be  contempt- 
uously thrown  by  the  besieging  army  of  Percy  and  Neville  in 
the  teeth  of  Sir  George  Bowes,  who,  acting  upon  the  defensive, 
had  shut  himself  up  in  Barnard  Castle.  Sir  Cuthbert  Sharp 
notices  this  reproachful  saying  in  his  Memorials  of  tlie  Rehellion^ 
1569.     It  is  occasionally  varied  to  cowardly,  cowardly,  &c.  &c. 

The  black  lion  under  the  oaken  tree 

Makes  the  Saxon  to  fight  and  the  Normans  to  flee.   • 

Varia,  as  given  by  a  female  of  the  Brackenbury  family,  whose 
name  she  bore  : 

The  Brackenbury  under  the  tree 

Made  the  Normans  conquer  and  the  Saxons  flee. 

The  crest  of  the  ancient  family  of  Brackenbury,  of  Sellaby, 
near  Gainford,  is.  Or,  a  tree  vert,  under  which  is  a  lion  couchant, 
sable.  Neither  history  nor  tradition  has  handed  down  to  pos- 
terity any  memorial  in  confirmation  of  the  truth  of  the  above 
couplet.  That  they  were  a  military  family  there  is  no  doubt, 
for  I  find  that  Robert,  son  of  Sir  William  de  Brackenbury,  was, 
with  thirty  others,  appointed,  tenth  of  Bishop  Richard  de  Bury, 
4  February,  1342,  to  array  all  the  defensible  men  in  Dar- 
lington Ward  to  oppose  the  Scots.  Sir  Robert  de  Brackenbury 
was  Constable  of  the  Tower  of  London,  temp.  Richard  III. 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  DURHAM.  99 


The  Bloody  Brackenburies. 

One  of  the  first  acts  of  the  third  Richard,  on  ascending  a 
usurped  throne,  was  to  send  for  Sir  Robert  de  Brackenbury, 
Constable  of  the  Tower,  whom  he  commanded  to  put  the  young 
princes — Edward  V.  and  his  brother,  Eichard,  Duke  of  York — 
to  death.  On  Sir  Robert  observing  *'  that  he  knew  not  how  to 
dip  his  hands  in  blood j^^  the  king  desired  him  to  resign  to  others, 
for  a  single  night,  the  keys  and  custody  of  the  regal  fortress. 
In  complying  with  this  order  it  is  difficult  to  say,  at  this  period, 
how  far  Brackenbury  deserved  blame ;  though  to  speak  of  him 
as  a  high-minded  person,  because  he  refused  himself  to  perpetrate 
a  crime,  which  he  made  no  effort  to  prevent  others  from  com- 
mitting, is  to  go  very  far  beyond  what  the  rules  of  moral  justice 
will  sanction.  Be  that  as  it  may,  a  fit  instrument  was  found  in 
the  person  of  Sir  James  Tyrrel,  who  again  employed  meaner 
assassins  under  him,  and  the  poor  children  were  the  same  night 
suffocated  in  their  sleep,  and  buried  at  the  foot  of  the  stairs, 
under  a  heap  of  stones. 

An  ancient  tower  in  connection  with  Barnard  Castle,  by  an 
odd  circumstance,  bears  the  name  of  Brackenbury's  Tower,  a 
name  which  we  naturally  associate  with  imprisonment  and 
blood ! 

Solum  Dunelmensb  stola  jus  dicet  et  ense. 

The  Bishop  of  Durham  has  the  power  of  presiding  in  person 
in  any  of  the  courts  of  judicature ;  even  when  judgment  of 
blood  is  given  he  may  sit  attired  in  his  purple  robes,  though  the 
canons  forbid  any  clergyman  to  be  present  on  such  occasions. 
Hence  the  above  saying.  Previous  to  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII. 
the  Bishops  of  Durham  could  create  barons,  appoint  judges, 
^''onvoke  Parliaments,  raise  taxes,  and  coin  money.     This  see 

h2 


100  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

was  anciently  called  the  Patrimony  of  St.  Cuthhert ;  and  the 
inhabitants  considered  themselves  St.  Cuthbert's  llaiijiverke- 
folke,  exempt  from  all  other  but  holy  work,  i.e.  the  defence  of 
St.  Cuthbert's  body.  They  claimed  to  hold  their  land  by  this 
tenure,  and  refused  to  serve  out  of  the  bishoprick  either  for 
king  or  bishop.  The  Bishop  of  Durham,  as  Count  Palatine, 
was  lord  of  the  whole  county.  He  sustains  two  characters  in 
one  person,  and  is  to  this  day,  and  has  been  from  time  imme- 
morial, styled  on  all  claims  in  the  King's  Court,  "  Episcopus 
Duuelmensis  et  Comes  Sadberge." 

The  Collingwoods  have  borne  the  name, 
Since  in  the  bush  the  buck  was  ta'n  : 
But  when  the  busli  shall  hold  the  buck, 
Then  farewell  *  faith,  and  farewell  luck. 

The  crest  of  the  Collingwoods  is  a  stag  at  full  gaze,  under 
an  oak-tree  proper.  A  branch  of  this  family  (originally  of 
Eslington,  county  Northumberland)  was  seated  in  the  county 
of  Durham,  at  Dalden,  Eppleton,  and  Hetton-on-the-Hill. 
[From  the  Bishoprick  Garland.^ 

The  Brave  Boweses. 

A  deserving  and  well-earned  characteristic  bestowed  in  olden 
time  upon  one  of  the  most  ancient  and  time-honoured  families 
of  the  bishopric. 

The  castle  of  Bowes,  under  Stanemoor,  was  built  by  Allan 
Niger,  the  first  Earl  of  Richmond^  wherein  he  placed  his  rela- 
tive Gulielmus  (who  for  the  nonce  assumed  the  name  of 
Arcubus)  as  lieutenant  over  five  hundred  archers.  The  earl 
also  bestowed  upon  him  his  own  shield  with  the  arms  of 
Bretagne,  and  three  bows  and  a  bundle  of  arrows  for  his 
standard.      Tradition  assigns  to  him   the   ancestorship  of  the 

*  Varia,  welcome. 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  DURHAM.  101 

famous  and  knightly  family  of  Bowes  of  Streatlam  Castle.  Sir 
William  Bowes  was  created  knight-banneret  at  the  battle  of 
Poictiers,  1346.  Sir  Eobert  Bowes  was  created  knight-ban- 
neret at  the  siege  of  Roan,  1419.  Sir  William  Bowes  was 
knighted  at  the  battle  of  Vermoyle,  in  France,  1424.  Sir  Ralph 
Bowes  was  knighted  at  the  battle  of  Flodden,  1514.  Sir  George 
Bowes,  knight,  heir  male  of  the  whole  family,  withstood  the 
rebellion  of  the  Earls  of  Northumberland  and  Westmoreland, 
and  was  by  special  commission  made  knight-marshal  north  of 
the  Trent.  He  died  1580,  aged  53.  In  glancing  over  the 
Bowes  pedigree  we  meet  with  the  following  names  honourable 
for  their  antiquity,  viz.  :  Trayne,  Lilburne,  Conyers,  the  family 
of  Greystock,  Fitzhugh,  Hilton,  Bulmer,  Eure,  Aske,  Mallory, 
Collingwood,  Musgrave,  Talbot,  Blakiston,  Salvin^  Yerney, 
Challoner,  Liddel.  In  a  MS.  {temp,  sixteenth  century)  epitaph 
of  this  family  still  preserved  we  read  as  follows  : — 

Happie,  thrice  happy  England  was  thou  then  esteem'd, 
When  those  brave  Bowes  did  in  thy  blessed  realm  abound, 

But  as  unhappie  now  thou  may  be  justly  deem'd, 
For  fiewe,  alas  !  suche  Bowes  can  in  thyself  be  found. 


QmcQUiD  Bex  habet  extra  Episcopus  habet  intra. 

A  legal  Latin  maxim  applicable  up  to  the  reignof  Henry  YIII. 
to  the  Palatinate  of  Durham.  This  county  became  palatinate 
soon  after  if  not  anterior  to  the  Norman  Conquest ;  the  bishops 
exercising  within  the  county  jura  regalia  as  strictly  as  the 
reigning  monarchs  did  in  other  parts  of  their  dominions,  regu- 
lem,  potestatem  in  omnibus,  as  Bracton.  who  wrote  in  the  reign 
of  Henry  VIIL,  expresses  it.  Most  of  these  princely  honours 
and  privileges  were  taken  away  in  the  reign  of  the  above-named 
monarch. 


102  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

God  Save  the  Bull  of  Westmoreland. 

The  warlike  prayer  of  a  feudal  period  used  by  the  retainers 
and  followers  of  the  Nevilles  of  Raby  and  Brancepeth. 

Eobert  Pierson,  Vicar  of  Sockburn  (1567)  in  the  bishopric, 
was  an  adventurer  in  a  great  lottery  which  was  drawn  in  the 
above  year  ;  and  upon  his  ticket  he  wrote  the  above  prayer  by 
way  of  motto,  poesy  or  device,  which  sufficiently  bewrays  his 
strong  attachment  to  the  noble  Nevilles'  house.  His  prayers, 
however,  availed  it  not. 

Saufey  Money. 

Protection  money  formerly  paid  by  many  of  the  inhabitants 
of  the  counties  of  Durham  and  Northumberland  to  marauders, 
in  consideration  of  their  not  stealing  their  cattle.  A  corruption 
of  safety  money, — Brockett's  Glossary  of  North  Country  Words, 
vol.  ii.  p.  110. 

Sweet  Jesse,  for  thy  mercy's  sake, 

And  for  thy  bitter  passion, 
Save  us  from  the  axe  of  the  Tower, 

And  from  Sir  Ralph  of  Ashton. 

According  to  one  tradition  the  above  rhymes  commemorated 
the  valiant  actions  of  one  Ashton  at  the  battle  of  Neville's  Cross 
in  this  county ;  where  he,  of  whom  no  historical  or  traditional 
particulars  are  known,  rode  through  the  ranks  of  the  enemy  and 
bore  away  the  royal  standard  from  the  tent  of  the  Scottish 
king.  For  this  act  of  heroism  he  was  knighted  by  Edward  III. 
To  commemorate  his  own  valour  he  is  said  to  have  instituted 
the  following  custom,  and  to  have  left  ten  shillings  yearly  (now 
reduced  to  five  shillings)  in  support  of  it,  along  with  his  own 
suit  of  black  velvet  and  a  coat  of  mail,  the  helmet  of  which  still 
remains. 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC  ,  RELATING  TO  DURHAM.  103 

Another  account  says  that  tlie  rhymes  were  composed  in  dis- 
honour of  Sir  Ralph  Ashton,  or  Asheton,  who  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  fifteenth  century  exerted  great  severity  as  vice-constable. 
The  ancient  custom  of  ^'  Hidincr  the  Black  Lad  "  at  Ashton- 
under- Lyne  on  Easter  Monday,  which  consists  in  carrying  an 
effigy  on  horseback  through  the  town,  shooting  at  it,  and  finally 
burning  it, -is  alleged  to  have  taken  its  origin  from  this  indi- 
vidual, who,  according  to  tradition,  was  shot  as  he  was  riding 
through  the  principal  street. 

Altogether  the  traditions  touching  both  the  custom  and  the 
origin  of  the  rhymes  are  extremely  conflicting. 

Addenda  to  the  Ehymes,  etc.,  of  the  Bishoprick. 

Further  variations  of  the  Brackenbury  Rhymes  {see  those 
already  given,  pp.  98,  99). 

3.  The  Black  Lion  under  the  oaken  tree, 
Made  the  Normans  fight  and  the  Saxons  flee. 

4.  The  Black  Lion  under  the  tree, 

Made  the  Norman  to  fight  and  the  Saxons  to  flee. 

A  version  of  these  rhymes  is  said  to  have  been  inscribed  on 
the  tomb  of  Perse  Brackenbury,  a  companion  of  the  Conqueror, 

Gain  ford,  where  the  parson  married  a  Pigg, 
Christened  a  Lamb,  and  buried  a  Hogg. 

And  what  makes  the  thing  more  remarkable  is,  that  these 
three  religious  duties  were  performed  on  three  consecutive  days, 
eg.,  John  Pigg  being  married  on  a  Saturday,  Henry  Lamb 
christened  on  Sunday,  and  John  Hogg  buried  on  Monday. — 
(Vide  Gainford  Church  Register  Book.  The  Rev.  John  Cranke, 
B.D.,  vicar.     The  Rev.  Marmaduke  TheakstonCj  curate,  1814.) 


104  THE  DENHAM  TKACTS. 

Barnard  Castle 

A  Briggate  bred-un. 

That  is  a  female  of  a  certain  class  born  in  Barnard  Castle, 
and  bred  up  in  that  Billingsgate  portion  of  the  town,  yclept 
Briggate,  or  as  the  modern  inhabitants  of  the  said  foul,  filthy, 
foetid  alley  would  gladly  have  it  called,  "  Bridge  Street !  " 

He's  ltke  a  Stanhope  Pan — black  both  inside  and  outside. 

Occasionally  it  has  been  my  fate  to  come  in  contact  with 
certain  specimens  of  humanity  who  have  been  in  these  unhappy 
circumstances.  May  I,  however,  so  conduct  myself  in  my 
dealings  with  fellow-men  that  no  one,  no,  not  even  my  enemy, 
may  ever  be  able  to  say  that  my  heart  is  in  a  condition  similar 
to  that  of  a  Stanhope  Pan. 

The  saying  is  from  the  Scottish  border. 

The  Devil's  Dean. 

Dean  "Whittingham,  who  was  appointed  19  July,  and  in- 
stalled 8  Oct.  1563,  was  so  called  by  his  enemies.  He  was 
a  violent  opposer  of  the  sacerdotal  vesture,  and  certainly  was 
guilty  of  numerous  acts  which  have  rendered  his  very  name 
execrable,  not  only  to  theologians,  but  also  to  archaeologists. 
Richard  Bancroft  calls  him  "  the  false  and  unworthy  Dean  of 
Durham."  In  fact,  he  was  a  rank  Calvinist,  and  kept  the 
Church  of  Durham  in  a  continual  disturbance,  till  at  last  the 
State  saw  it  necessary  to  interfere.  He  died  at  Durham, 
10  June,  1579,  and  was  buried  in  the  cathedral  church. 

Tyne,  Tume,  or  Twme  Tabard. 

This  epithet  or  nickname  was  bestowed  on  John  Buliol  by  the 
Scots,  on  account  of  his  supposed  cowardice,  in  that  he  con- 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATIKQ  TO  DURHAM.  105 

ceded  to  England  liis  independent  sovereignty,  and  as  a  conse- 
quence his  armorial  insignia.      So  that,  as  Wyntown,  in  his 
Chronikil^  vol.  ii.  pp.  88,  89,  expresses  it,  by  his  enemies 
"  Twyme-Tabart  he  was  callyt  efterwart." 

By  some  1  yne  is  looked  upon  as  a  misprint  for  Tume,  yet  Tyne 
may  be  the  true  reading  Tume-Tabart,  i.e.,  empty  coat.  To 
Tyme,  signifies  to  lose,  and  by  implication,  that  Baliol  had  lost 
his  heraldic  coat. 

A  HuREOCK  OF  Stones. 

The  escheat  of  Raby,  it  is  understood,  was  purchased  for  the 
sum  of  £10,000,  It  is  furthermore  said,  that  when  Sir  Harry 
Vane  was  driving  the  bargain  for  the  castle  and  estates  with  the 
king  and  the  citizens  of  London,  he  told  the  king  that  Raby 
Castle  was  only  a  liurrock  of  stones.  When  King  Jamie,  who 
afterwards  visited  Sir  Harry  at  the  noble  pile  of  Raby,  saw  the 
stately  feudal  castle,  with  its  many  tours  and  grete  chaumbres 
and  hawles  (in  one  of  which  the  noble  Nevilles  of  olden  time 
did,  it  is  said,  "  once  upon  a  time  "  entertain  ''  seven  hundred 
knights,  who  held  of  the  family  "),  he  could  not  but  remark  to 
Sir  Harry :  "  Did  thou  na'  say  that  Eaby  Castle  was  only  a 
hurrock  of  stanes  !  Ah !  mon,  I  hae  nae  sic  anither  hurrock 
in  a'  ma'  dominions." 

Hurrock. — This  word  is  still  used  in  the  various  dialects  of 
the  North  to  express  a  piled-up  heap  of  loose  stones  or  rubbish ; 
in  fact,  a  collection  of  anything  in  a  loose  state. 

Little  London. 

A  certain  locale  in  the  otherwise  pretie  littel  towne  of  Bishop 
Auckland  is  so  designated,  and  is  inhabited  by  muggers, 
tinkers,  fawes,  and  gypsies.  A  Christian  lady  (the  late  Mrs. 
Dobson)  visited  one  of  these  poor  people  when  dying.     Mrs.  D. 


106  THE  DEXHAM  TRACTS. 

found  her  very  ignorant,  and,  speaking  to  lier  of  Jesus  Christ 
Avas  answered  by  this  English  heathen  that  she  had  never  heard 
of  the  gentleman.  Being,  however,  further  pressed  on  the  sub- 
ject, she  at  length  confessed  that  she  once  went  into  a  Methodist 
meeting-house  at  Darlington,  and  she  had  heard  the  gentleman 
spoken  of  there  ! ! 

I  have  the  highest  authority  for  the  truthfulness  of  the  above 
bisho'brigg  anecdote. 

He's  fit  to  Keep  Company  with  the  Lambtons. 

In  the  northern  portion  of  the  bishoprick,  and  southern 
border  of  Northumberland,  they  have  an  old  saw,  when  speak- 
ing of  a  dashing,  flashing,  stylish  fellow,  "  Oh  I  he's  fit  to  keep 
company  with  the  Lambtons." 


SUPPLEMENT  TO  THE  RHYMES,  PROVERBS,  SAYINGS, 
ETC.,  OF  THE  COUNTY  OP  DURHAM. 

Two  namesakes  of  late,  in  a  different  way, 
With  much  spirit  and  zeal  did  bestir  'em; 
The  one  was  transported  to  Botany  Bay, 
The  other  translated  to  Durham. 

Barrington,  the  notorious  pickpocket,  and  the  Hon.  Shute 
Barrington,  Bishop  of  Durham,  were  contemporaries  ;  and 
nearly  at  the  same  time  the  former  was  transported  for  felony, 
and  the  latter  promoted  from  the  Bishopric  of  Salisbury  to  the 
rich  see  of  Durham. 

To  record  these  two  events  a  certain  scribe  of  the  day  writ  the 
above  epigram. 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  DURHAM.  107 

The  NevHls  in  future  ages  shall  be  known 
Both  by  their  mother's  virtues  and  their  own. 

Cheviot,  a  Poetical  Fragment. 

"  The  names  of  the    Percies   and   Nevilles  have  long   been 

honourable  and  well  beloved." — Thomas  Norton's  Address  to  the 

Rebels,  1569. 

A  Gatesider. 

A  low  bred  vulgar  fellow. 

A  Stanhope  "Wolf. 
The  above  designation  is,  I  understand,  equally  as  applicable 
to  the  natives  of  the  above  town  as  that  of  Weardale  Wolf  is  to 
the  natives  of  the  dale  in  general.  It  also  has  a  local  appro- 
priateness, inasmuch  as  there  is  a  ravine  within  a  few  miles  of 
Stanhope,  which  still  retains  the  name  of  Wolf-Cleugh.  There 
is  also  proof  from  a  Roman  altar,  still  preserved  at  the  rectory 
manse,  which  commemorates  the  capture  of  a  wild  hoar,  that 
that  animal  (as  well  as  the  wolf)  was  an  inhabitant  of  the 
primitive  forests  of  Weardale. 

Weardale  weaker  and  wiser, 
Hurwood  bigger  and  fonder. 

This  saying  alludes  to  the  bodily  and  intellectual  strength  of 
the  peoples  inhabiting  the  above  two  somewhat  out-of-the-way 
districts.  Harwood  is  situate  almost  at  the  head  of  the  river 
Tees,  and  is  separated  from  Weardale  by  a  narrow  mountain 
range. 

He  has  found  a  Pot  of  Gold  in  the  Castle  Garth. 
(Extracts  from  a  Poem.    Scene,  Stockton-on-Tees.) 
A  castle  there  you  may  behold, 
Seated  upon  a  rising  ground, 
Where  many  a  weighty  Pot  of  Gold, 
Is  hidden  all  around  ; 
But  how  folks  came  there  gold  to  leave 
I  can't  conceive. 


108  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

The  gold  that's  buried  all  belonged 
Unto  this  mighty  giant  here  ; 
His  court  with  slaves  was  ever  throng'd, 
His  parks  were  always  stocked  with  deer. 

Now  underground  there  is  his  stable, 
Where  yet  remains  the  bones  of  camels, 
And  men,  if  they  are  willing  and  able, 
May  walk  from  thence  into  the  shambles. 

There  is  a  tradition  that  many  urns  or  pots  of  gold  are  hidden 
here.  It  has  also  become  a  proverbial  saying,  if  a  man  growls 
rich  of  a  sudden,  that  he  has  found  a  pot  of  gold  in  the  castle 
garth.  There  is  also  a  tradition  of  a  long  cave,  reaching  from 
the  burn  to  the  shambles,  inhabited,  they  tell  you,  by  bones, 
gold,  and  hobgoblins,  of  which  they  tell  many  wonderful  stories. 
— Newcastle  Literary  Register  or  Weekly  Miscellany,  1772, 
vol.  iv.  p.  251. 

The  demolition  of  Stockton  Castle,  a.d.  1652,  is  also  chronicled 
in  verse  (?)  by  a  local  poet,  thus — 

Old  Noll  in  his  day  out  of  pious  concern, 

This  castle  demolish'd,  sold  all  but  the  barn.     [J.  H.J 

Ah  Dunelmia  !  Nimium  Vicina  Scotiae. 

^' While  in  the  plenitude  of  his  fortune  Bishop  Morton's 
charities  and  hospitality  were  abundant ;  and  so  freely  did  the 
king  and  his  courtiers  make  use  of  his  liberality  in  their 
frequent  journeys  between  London  and  Scotland  that  it  became 
proverbial." — Barwick's  Life  of  Morton.  Brewster's  Stockton, 
p.  48,  ed.  1829.— [J.  H.] 

Barney  Castle  Gingerbread. 

"  The  best  in  the  world."  So  it  is  described  by  Mr,  Brockett, 
Northern  Glossary,  p.  26,  3rd  ed.  So  also  wo  have  Shrewsbury 
cakes,  Banbury  cakes,  and  Everton  toflfee. 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  DURHAM.  109 


The  Wishing  Chair. 

Beneath  a  cliair  in  Finchale  priory  church  is  shown  a  seat 
said  to  have  the  virtue  of  removing  sterility  and  procuring  issue 
for  any  woman  who,  having  performed  certain  ceremonies,  sat 
down  therein  and  devoutly  loislied  for  a  child.  Tradition  says 
that  this  seat  v/as  formerly  in  great  repute,  and,  though  of  stone, 
it  appears  much  worn  by  frequent  suitors  for  pregnancy. 

It  may,  perhaps,  be  needless  to  observe,  that  since  the  removal 
of  the  monks  it  has  entirely  lost  its  efficacy. — Grose's  Antiquities. 

Jolly-boddy  and  Shittlehope-side  all  of  a  raw, 
And  then  bonny  Stanhope  the  best  o'  them  a'. 

A  fragmentary  couplet  of  rough  rhymes,  merely  descriptive  of 
the  position  of  the  houses  on  a  hill  to  the  north  of  Stanhope. 

They're  like  Toft-Hill   Stockings — They'll  fit  owther 
Lad  or  Man. 

Spoken  of  worthless  and  slightly-made  apparel  of  any  descrip- 
tion, possessing  neither  shape,  make,  form,  nor  fashion. 

"When  Yarm  sinks  and  Egglescliffe  swims,  Aislaby  will  be  a 

Market  Town. 

An  old  prophecy,  said  to  have  been  uttered  by  a  witch.  Yarm, 
anciently  Yareham  and  Yarum,  is  situated  very  low  on  the 
Yorkshire  banks  of  the  River  Tees ;  Egglescliffe,  as  its  name 
imports,  on  a  lofty  acclivity  on  the  bishoprick  side  of  the  river. 
It  is  traditionally  believed  that  in  days  of  yore  a  market  was 
held  in  the  village  ;  and  in  proof  thereof  the  people  point  to  the 
remains  of  a  ruinated  cross  still  standing  in  the  open  space  in 
the  "  middest"  of  the  village  green.  Aislaby,  in  the  parish  of 
Egglescliffe,  is  about  one  mile  distant  from  Yarm. 


liO  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

Hamsterley  Hungertown  stands  on  a  hill  ; 
Witton-le-Wear  lies  in  a  gill :  * 
Wolsingham's  proud,  and  breeds  that  at's  Donnat,t 
Frosterley's  poor,  but  has  a  good  stomach. 

The  pleasantly  situated  village  of  Hamsterley  is  about,  seven 
miles  west-by-north  of  Bishop  Auckland.  Witton-le-Wear  is 
within  the  jurisdiction  of  St.  Andrew  Auckland,  as  also  is 
Hamsterley.  Both  these  villages  are  located  as  described  in 
the  text. 

Wolsingham  is  a  small  market-town  and  parish  on  the  north 
banks  of  the  river  Wear.  As  to  the  pride  and  worthless,  or 
rather  devilish  nature  of  its  inhabitants,  I  cannot  speak;  yet 
feel  bound  to  enter  on  record  that,  "  once  upon  a  time,"  now 
many  long  years  ago,  I  was  the  recipient  of  almost  unbounded 
kindness  at  the  residence  of  a  gentleman,  still  living  there,  and  to 
whom  at  that  period  I  was  an  entire  stranger. 

Donnat :  a  worthless  wretch ;  also  a  provincialism  for  the 
Devil. 

Frosterley  is  a  village  in  the  parish  of  Stanhope.  The 
phrase,  "  has  a  good  stomach,"  I  leave  to  the  reader's  imagi- 
nation to  translate  either  by  great  eaters  or  high-spirited ^eop?e; 
only  I  prefer  the  latter,  which  is  probably  the  correct  meaning. 

Sitting  in  Bede's  Chair. 

To  this  chair,  still  preserved  in  Jarrow  church,  many  new- 
made  brides  repair  on  the  completion  of  the  matrimonial  ser- 

*  Witton-le-Wear  stands  on  a  sill.  Sill  is  a  term  used  by  miners 
for  any  land  that  appears  metalliferous. 

t  Donnat  is  here  used  substantially  [substantively  ?]  ;  conse- 
quently the  ellipsis  [of  the]  must  be  understood. 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  DURHAM.  11  1 

vice,  and  seat  themselves  therein.  This  is  done  under  the 
hope  of  making  tliemselves  fruitful  mothers  of  many  children  in 
all  due  time. 

[Three  wishes  are  granted  to  those  who  sit  in  the  saint's 
chair.  "  Some  few  years  since  this  chair  was  entrusted  to  the 
custody  of  a  j^erson  who  had  been  accustomed  to  nautical  aflPairs, 
and  who  used,  by  a  whimsical  mistake,  very  excusable  in  a 
sailor,  to  exhibit  it  as  a  curiosity  which  formerly  belonged  to 
the  great  Admiral  Bede,  upon  whose  exploits  he  ventured 
several  encomiums  consistent  with  the  naval  character." — 
{Curiosities  of  the  Pulpit ^  by  Rev.  Thomas  Jackson,  p.  32.) — 
[J.  H.] 

Seaton  sluice  and  Hartlepool  mill, 

The  one  goes  round,  the  other  stands  still. 

An  old  rhyme,  in  connection  with  which  I  can  offer  no 
solution. 

The  water  of  Hezzle  well 
Will  make  tea  by  itself. 

Spoken  of  the  waters  of  an  excellent  enclosed  wayside  spring, 
a  little  to  the  west  of  the  village  of  Stainton,  near  Barnard 
Castle. 

Picktree  and  Pelaw, 
And  Kickleton  on  the  hill ; 
Lambton  and  Biddick, 
And  Johnie  Floater's  mill. 

The  first  four  places  are  in  the  parish  of  Chester-lc' Street. 
North  Biddick,  is  on  the  Wear,  in  tlie  parish  of  Washington. 
In  this  township  is  the  celebrated  Worm  Rill. 


112  THE   DENHAM   TRACTS. 

Thu  Lang  Man  o'  Bollyhope. 

The  warriors  on  the  [mountain]  high 
Moving  athwart  the  evening  sky, 

Seem'd  forms  of  giant  lieight : 
Their  armour  as  it  caught  the  rays, 
riash'd  back  again  the  western  blaze 

In  lines  of  dazzling  light. 

Bolliope,  or  Bf>llyliope,  is  a  high  ridge  of  black  mountains, 

about  four  miles  from  Wolsingham.     On  the  top  of  this  dreary 

and  sterile  track  is  a  ciirrack  or  curragh*  [a  pillar  of  stones], 

known  by  the  name  of  March  stones  on  the  Border.     Tradition 

states  that  one  clear  summer's  evening,  many  long  years  ago, 

two  tall  figures  were  seen  to  meet  on  the  top  of  the  ridge,  and 

at  once  proceed  to  mortal  strife.     The  clash  of  arms  was  heard 

in  the  valley,  and  their  forms,  being  set  in  relief  against  the 

clear  blue  sky,  seemed  to  dilate  to  that  of  the  giants  of  old. 

One  of  them  was  at  length  seen  to  fall,  and  the  other,  after 

hovering  about  for  a  short  space,  vanished  from  sight.      On  the 

morrow  the  mangled  corpse  of  a  tall  man  was  found  on  the 

spot.     No  person,  however,  knew  him  ;  neither  was  there  any 

inquiry  made  after  him.     He  was  buried  where  he  fell,  and  the 

pile   of  stones   which  was  reared  on  his  grave  is  now  known 

as  the 

Lang  man  o'  Bollyhope  ! 

They'll  come  back  again  like  the  Pigs  o'  Pelton. 

The  origin  and  meaning  of  this  saying  is  extremely  obscure, 
perhaps  it  means  much  the  same  as 

They'll  all  come  again  as  Goodyer's  pigs  did — never ! 

Bay^s  Proverbs. 

There  is  a  trifling  variation  or  two  of  this  Pelton  saw,  but 
unworthy  of  note.  The  version  of  the  above  and  following 
proverb  arc  those  used  in  South  Durham. 

*  This  curragh  is  on  the  southernmost  edge  of  Bollyhope. 


POPULAR  RHYMES,   ETC.,  RELATING  TO  DURHAM.  113 

Thicker  and  Ranker  like  Pigs  o'  Pelton. 

There  is  a  strange  doggerel  hominy,  whicli  Sir  Cuthbert 
Sharp  gives  in  his  Bishoprick  Garland,  and  says  that  it  is  still 
sung  by  some  of  the  inhabitants  of  Pelton  to  their  children  j 
but  no  one  is  now  aware  of  its  application  or  origin.  It  fol- 
lows— 

The  swine  com  jingling  doun  Pelton  Ion  in, 
The  swine  com  jingling  doun  Pelton  lonin, 
The  swine  com  jingling  doun  Pelton  lonin, 
There's  five  black  swine  and  never  an  odd  one  : 
Three's  i'  the  dike  and  two  i'  the  lonin, 
Three  i'  the  dike  and  two  i'  the  lonin, 
Three  i'  the  dike  and  two  i'  the  lonin. 
There's  five  black  swine  and  nerer  an  odd  one. 

[Singularly,  Mr.  Denham  has  arranged  this  among  the 
Northumbrian  sayings,  but  it  is  now  remanded  to  its  true  posi- 
tion— the  Bishoprick.  In  Northumberland,  however,  the  natives 
apply  the  same  saying  to  Felton.] 

["  The  Peacock  of  the  North." 

Robert  Neville,  so  called  from  his  splendour.  In  1316  he 
murdered  Richard  Fitzmarmeduk,  his  kinsman,  upon  Framwell- 
gate  Bridge,  in  Durham.  He  was  killed,  two  years  afterwards, 
by  James  Earl  of  Douglas,  whilst  leading  a  lawless  band  of 
robbers  into  Scotland.  His  monumental  effigy,  in  stone, 
remains  in  the  north  aisle  of  the  church  of  Brancepeth. — Note 
in  Depositions  and  other  Ecclesiastical  Proceedings  in  the  Courts 
at  Durham,  p.  2.     (Surtees'  Soc.  Pub.) — J.  H.] 

[Red  Robin. 
About   half  a  mile   north  of  the  Long  Bank,  on  the    old 


114  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

Durham  and  Newcastle  turnpike,  near  Low  Eighton,  or  Ay  ton, 
is  a  public-house,  "  whilom  kept  by  Isabella  Stephenson,  which 
has  long  been  known  by  the  name  of  ^  Eed  Robin's.'  On  its 
sign-board  is  a  picture  of  the  house,  with  the  following  lines 
underneath,  as  an  invitation  to  travellers : — 

Eed  Robin  lives  here, 
Sells  good  ale  and  beer  ; 
Pass  ye  east  or  pass  ye  west, 
If  ye  pass  here  ye  pass  the  best. 

"  Robin  Rogerson  was  the  first  '  Red  Robin.'  His  son  Philip 
bore  the  same  title.  Margaret  Stephenson,  the  daughter  of 
Philip,  continued  the  house  after  her  father's  death,  under  the 
name  of  '  Red  Peggy  ' ;  and  her  daughter,  Isabella  Stephenson, 
since  the  conductress  of  the  establishment,  is  best  known  as 
'  Red  Bella.'  It  is  said  that  this  sobriquet  was  conferred  upon 
the  father  of  this  red  race  in  consequence  of  the  great  value  he 
set  upon  a  favourite  red  cock  (a  game  cock)  ;  but  he  must  have 
been  indebted  for  his  title  to  something  besides  the  cock,  other- 
wise he  might  with  more  propriety  have  been  called  '  Cock 
Robin '  than  '  Red  Robin.'  Philip  was  so  fond  of  his  favourite 
colour,  that  he  once  appeared  at  Lamesley  church  completely 
dressed  in  red,  even  to  the  very  hat  and  shoes ;  and  his  suc- 
cessors have  shown  so  steady  an  adherence  to  the  hereditary 
partiality  of  the  family  as  to  have  prefixed  to  their  names  the 
distinguishing  title  of  '  Red.' " — Wilson's  Pitmnn's  Pay,  8fc. 
p.  61,  note. — J.  H.] 

Chakactbristics  of  a  few  Bishoprick  Families. 

The  beggarly  Baliols. 

(So  would  our  Scottish  neighbours,  at  least,  say.) 
The  base  Bellasis. 
The  bloody  Brackenburies. 
The  bold  Bertrams. 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  DURHAM.  1  15 

The  bauld  Blakestones. 

The  brave  Bowes. 

The  bare-boned  Bulmers. 

The  bacchanalian  Burdons. 

The  clacking  Claxtons. 

The  confident  Conjers. 

The  crafty  Craddocks. 

The  cozening  Croziers. 

The  eventful  Evers. 

The  friendly  Forsters. 

The  filthy  Foulthorpes. 

The  generous  Garths. 

The  handsome  Hansards. 

The  hoary  Hyltons. 

The  jealous  Jennisons. 

The  lamb-like  (?)  Lambtons. 

The  light  Lilburnes. 

The  lofty  Lumleys. 

The  mad  Maddisons. 

The  manly  Mairs. 

The  noble  Nevilles. 

The  politic  Pollards. 

The  placid  Places. 

The  ruthless  Ruths. 

The  salvable  Salvins. 

The  shrewd  Shadforths. 

The  sure  Surteeses. 

The  testy  Tailboyses. 

The  wily  Wilkinsons. 

The  wrathful  Wrens. 

As  of  birds  so  of  men,  the  Wrens  are  the  most  pugnacious 
of  all  bipeds. 

i2 


110  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 


APPENDIX    TO    DURHAM. 


A  MYTH  OF  MIDRIDGE  ;  OR,  A  STORY  ANENT  A 
WITLESS  WIGHT'S  ADVENTURES  WITH  Y^E  MID- 
RIDGE FAIRIES  IN  YE  BISHOPRICK  OF  DURHAM, 
NOW  MORE  THAN  TWO  CENTURIES  AGO. 

Talking  about  fairies  the  other  day  to  a  nearly  octogenarian 
female  neighbour,  I  asked  had  she  ever  seen  one  in  her  youthful 
days.  Her  answer  was  in  the  negative ;  "  but,"  quoth  she, 
"  I've  heard  my  grandmother  tell  a  story  that  Midridge  (near 
Auckland)  was  a  great  place  for  fairies  when  she  was  a  child, 
and  for  many  long  years  after  that."  A  rather  lofty  hill,  only 
a  short  distance  from  the  village,  was  their  chief  place  of  resort, 
and  around  it  they  used  to  dance,  not  by  dozens  but  by  hun- 
dreds, when  the  gloaming  began  to  show  itself  of  the  summer 
nights.  Occasionally  a  villager  used  to  visit  the  scene  of  their 
gambols  in  order  to  catch,  if  it  were,  but  a  passing  glance  of 
the  tiny  folks,  dressed  in  their  vestments  of  green,  as  delicate 
as  the  thread  of  the  gossamer,  for  well  knew  the  lass  so  favoured 
that  ere  the  current  year  had  disappeared  she  would  have 
become  the  happy  wife  of  the  object  of  her  only  love ;  and  also 
as  well  kenn'd  the  lucky  lad  that  he,  too,  would  get  a  Areel- 
tochered  lassie  long  afore  his  brow  became  wrinkled  with  age, 
or  the  snow-white  blossoms  had  begun  to  bud  forth  upon  his 
pate.  Woe  to  those,  however,  who  dared  to  come  by  twos  or 
by  threes  with  inquisitive  and  curious  eye  within  the  bounds 
of  their  domain,  for  if  caught,  or  only  the  eye  of  a  fairy  fell  • 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  DURHAM.  117 

upon  them,  ill  was  sure  to  betide  them  through  life.  Still  more 
awful,  however,  was  the  result,  if  any  were  so  rash  as  to  address 
them  either  in  plain  prose  or  rustic  rhyme.  The  last  instance 
of  their  being  spoken  to  is  thus  still  handed  down  by  tradition  : 
— 'Twas  on  a  beautifully  clear  evening  in  the  mouth  of  August, 
when  the  last  sheaf  had  crowned  the  last  stack  in  their  master's 
hagyard,  and,  after  calling  the  "  harvest  home,"  the  daytale- 
men  and  household  servants  were  enjoying  themselves  over 
massive  pewter  quarts  foaming  over  with  strong  beer,  that  the 
subject  of  the  evening's  conversation  at  last  turned  upon  the 
fairies  of  the  neighbouring  hill,  and  each  related  his  oft-told 
tale  which  he  had  learned  by  rote  from  the  lips  of  some  parish 
granddame.  At  last,  the  senior  of  the  mirthful  party  proposed 
to  a  youthful  mate  of  his  who  had  dared  to  doubt  even  the 
existence  of  such  creatures,  that  he  durst  not  go  to  the  hill, 
mounted  on  his  master's  best  palfrey,  and  call  aloud  at  the  full 
extent  of  his  voice  the  following  rhymes  : — 

Rise  little  lads, 

Wi'  your  iron  gads, 

And  set  the  lad  o'  Midridge  hame. 

Tam  o'-Shanter-like,  elated  with  the  contents  of  the  pewter 
vessels,  he  notliing  either  feared  or  doubted,  and  off  went  the 
lad  to  the  fairy  hill ;  so,  being  arrived  at  the  base,  he  was 
nothing  loth  to  extend  his  voice  to  its  utmost  powers  in  giving 
utterance  to  the  above  invitatory  verses.  Scarcely  had  the 
last  words  left  his  lips  ere  he  was  nearly  surrounded  by  many 
hundreds  of  the  little  folks,  who  are  ever  ready  to  revenge  with 
the  infliction  of  the  most  dreadful  punishment  every  attempt 
at  insult.  The  most  robust  of  the  fairies,  who  I  take  to  have 
been  Oberon,  their  king,  wielding  an  enormous  javelin,  thus 
also  in  rhymes,  equally  rough,  rude,  and  rustic,  addressed  the 
witless  wight ; — 


118  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

Silly  Willy,  mount  thy  filly, 

And  if  it  isn't  weel  corn'd  and  fed, 

I'll  ha'  thee  afore  thou  gets  hame  to  thy  Midridge  bed. 

Well  was  it  for  Willy  that  his  home  was  not  far  distant,  and 
that  part  light  was  still  remaining  in  the  sky.  Horrified  beyond 
measure,  he  struck  his  spurs  into  the  sides  of  his  beast,  who, 
equally  alarmed,  darted  oif  as  quick  as  lightning  towards  the 
mansion  of  its  owner.  Luckily  it  was  one  of  those  houses  of 
olden  time  which  would  admit  an  equestrian  and  his  horse 
within  its  portals  without  danger ;  lucky  also  was  it  that  at  the 
moment  they  arrived  the  door  was  standing  wide  open ;  so  con- 
sidering the  house  a  safer  sanctuary  from  the  belligerous  fairies 
than  the  stable,  he  galloped  direct  into  the  hall,  to  the  no  small 
amazement  of  all  beholders,  when  the  door  was  instantly  closed 
upon  his  pursuing  foes  I  As  soon  as  Willy  was  able  to  draw  his 
breath,  and  had  in  part  overcome  the  effects  of  his  fear,  he 
related  to  his  comrades  a  full  and  particular  account  of  his 
adventures  with  the  fairies ;  but  from  that  time  forward  never 
more  could  any  one,  either  for  love  or  money,  prevail  upon 
Willy  to  give  the  fairies  of  the  hill  an  invitation  to  take  an 
evening  walk  with  him  as  far  as  the  village  of  Midridge ! 

To  conclude.  W^hen  the  fairies  had  departed  and  it  was  con- 
sidered safe  to  unbar  the  door  to  give  egress  to  Willy  and  his 
filly,  it  was  found,  to  the  amazement  of  all  beholders,  that  the 
identical  iron  javelin  of  the  fairy  king  had  pierced  through  the 
thick  oaken  door,  which,  for  service  as  well  as  safety,  was 
strongly  plated  with  iron,  where  it  still  stuck,  and  actually 
required  the  strength  of  the  stoutest  fellow  in  the  company, 
with  the  aid  of  a  smith's  great  fore-hammer,  to  drive  it  forth. 
This  singular  relic  of  fairy-land  was  preserved  for  many  gene- 
rations, till,  passing  eventually  into  the  hands  of  one  who  cared 
for  none  of  those  things,  it  was  lost,  to  the  no  small  regret  of  all 
lovers  of  legendary  lore  ! 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  DURHAM.  119 

Methinks  I  hear  more  than  one  "  courteous  reader  "  cry  out 
'' Phooh  !  What  have  bona  fide  javelins  of  iron,  or  any  other 
of  the  paraphernalia  of  fairies,  used  either  in  offence  or 
defence,  or  their  horses,  or  their  dresses,  to  do  with  legitimate 
fairyology  ?  They  are  things  which  we  mortals  are  truly  per- 
mitted to  see,  but  never,  no  never,  to  touch  !  Phooh  !  phooh  ! 
It's  all  stuff  and  nonsense."  Although  I  am  perfectly  aware 
that  nothing  about  a  fairy  can  be  touched  or  handled,  the 
whole  being  of  that  thin  shadowy  nature  which  enables  it  to  be 
embraced  by  the  imagination  alone,  still  I  may  be  allowed 
quaintly  to  observe  that  I  am  relating  a  myth,  not  writing  an 
Essay  on  the  Fairy  Mythology  of  my  native  county.  For- 
tunately we  have,  nevertheless,  certain  fairy  relics  which, 
falling  into  more  conservative  hands  than  the  javelin  of  Mid- 
ridge,  have,  after  passing  through  many  generations,  descended 
to  the  present  day ;  witness  the  Cup  of  Eden  Hall,  in  Cumber- 
land, and  also  a  Sacramental  Cup  still  used  in  one  of  the 
churches  of  the  Isle  of  Man,  which  tradition,  equally  with  that 
of  Eden  Hall,  asserts  to  have  been  acquired  in  much  the  same 
way,  from  a  gathering  of  festive  fairies.  These  surely  are  to 
me  as  a  host  in  support  of  the  Myth  of  MidridgCj  which  I  tell  to 
others  as  'twas  told  to  me ! 

A  Yorkshireman's  Coat  of  Arms. 

To  wit :  A  Fly,  a  Flea,  a  Magpie,  and  a  Flitch  of  Bacon. 

A  Cockney  fling  at  the  natives  of  the  North  Countrie,  and 
with  Cocknies  all  Northerns  are  either  Scots  or  Yorkshiremen. 
The  Cockneydom  explanation  is,  "  that  a  fly  will  drink  with 
any  man,  and  so  will  a  Yorkshireman  ;  a  flea  will  bite  any 
man,  and  so  will  a  Yorkshireman ;  a  magpie  will  chatter  with 
any  one,  and  so  will  a  Yorkshireman;  and  as  for  a  flitch  of 
bacon,  it  is  of  no  worth  till  it  is  hu7icfj  no  more  is  a  Yorkshire- 
man." 


120  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

The  chronicler  of  this  cutting  saw  begs  leave  to  say  that, 
although  he  is  not  a  native  of  broad  Yorkshire,  should  the 
Londoners  ever  see  proper  to  alter  or  make  any  additions  to  the 
heraldic  bearings  of  Yorkshire,  not  to  omit  to  give  a  fighting 
cock  as  the  Yorkshireman's  crest,  for  a  Yorkshire  game  cock 
of  the  true  breed  will  turn  his  tail  upon  none  of  his  species ;  and 
as  for  a  Yorkshire  Tyke,  i.e.,  a  Yorkshireman,  I  feel  confident 
that  he  would  not  only  face  three  Cockneys,  but  would  give  them 
all,  one  after  another,  what  he  would  in  his  own  country  phrase 
call  a  "reet  good  benzilling." — Literary  Gazette,  Sept.  6,  1850, 
p.  676. 

"  WaESE  !    AND    WaRSE  !  "    AS    THE    PaRROT    SAID    TO    THE 

Yorkshireman. 

A  story  is  told  how,  once  upon  a  time,  an  honest  Northern 
rode  into  the  yard  of  a  hostelry,  somewhere  in  the  siveet  south, 
and  vociferated  at  the  extent  of  his  stentorian  voice,  "  Wostler  ! 
Wostler !  "  Now  it  happened  that  a  parrot  (which  hung  in  the 
court-yard  of  this  neglected  mansion  of  the  olden  time,  not 
being  so  well  acquainted  with  the  dialectic  tongues  of  Britain  as 
a  few  ryght  lerned  and  unfeathered  bipeds  which  I  could  readily 
name)  mistook  the  poor  countryman  for  a  native  of  the  land  of 
cakes,  and  said  to  himself,  in  a  voice  sufficiently  loud  though  to 
be  heard  by  the  new-come  guest,  ^^ Proud  Scot  !  Proud  Scot  I /^^ 
The  traveller,  considering  himself  grossly  insulted  by  the  parrot, 
cast  his  eyes  up  at  Poll  and  retorted  with,  "  Thou'se  a  d — d 
hear,  for  Ize  a  Yorkshireman.^^  "  Worse  !  and  Worse  !  "  quoth 
the  parrot.  And  so  the  dialogue  ended,  to  the  great  chagrin  of 
the  "  honest  Yorkshire  bite."— iyi^^mr^  Gazette,  Oct.  14,  1848, 
p.  685. 


III. 

SLOGANS    AND    GATHERING    CRIES    OF    THE 
NORTH   OF    ENGLAND. 

Then  rose  the  slogan  with  a  shout, 

"  To  it,  Tynedale  !  "  "  Jethart's  here  ! " 

Ancient  Local  Ballad. 

Our  slogan  is  their  lyke-wake  dirge. 
Our  moat  the  grave  where  they  shall  lie. 

Lay  of  the  Last  Minstrel. 

Slogans  or  slughorns,  and  war  or  gathering-cries,  were  common 
throughout  the  whole  of  the  European  continent  in  the  Middle 
Ages ;  and  their  primary  object,  no  doubt,  was  to  animate 
the  rival  warriors  at  the  moment  of  attack  ;  they  were  also  used 
as  the  watchword  by  which  individuals  of  the  same  party  recog- 
nised each  other,  either  amidst  the  darkness  of  night  or  in  the 
confusion  of  battle,  and  are  in  general  found  to  be  composed  of 
the  name  of  the  various  leaders  of  the  local  bands  of  foemen 
under  whose  banner  they  so  courageously  fought  even  unto 
death. 

Occasionally,  as  in  Scotland,  the  name  of  the  place  of 
rendezvous  was  used  as  the  slughorn.  The  war-cry  of  kings 
was,  however,  generally  that  of  the  patron  saint  of  their  country ; 
to  wit,  that  of  the  King  of  England,  "  St  George  "  ;  the  King 


k 


122  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

of  Scotland,  "  St.  Andrew  "  ;  while  that  of  the  King  of  France 
was  "  Montjoye  St.  Denis."  ♦ 

St.  George  he  was  for  England,  St.  Denis  was  for  France, 
Sing,  Honi  soit  qui  mal  y  pense. 

Ballad  of  St.  George  for  England. 

Few  of  the  slushorns  of  the  gallant  Northerns  have  been 
preserved  to  us,  though  formerly  they  made  every  heart  beat 
with  ardour,  every  hand  grasp  its  weapon,  and  every  foot 
hasten  to  its  rendezvous  !  Many  of  the  ancient  families,  after 
the  union  of  the  two  kingdoms,  converted  their  "  war  cries  " 
into  mottoes. 

The  following  passage  from  an  old  author  is  extremely  valu- 
able as  illustrative  of  the  use  (or  rather  the  abuse)  of  the 
slogan  : 

"  That  whereas  alweys,  both  in  al  townes  of  war  and  in  al 
campes  of  armies,  quietness  and  stilness  without  nois  is,  prin- 
cipally in  the  night,  after  the  watch  is  set,  observed  (I  need  not 
reason  why).  Yet,  our  Northern  Prikkers,  the  Borderers,  not- 
withstanding, with  great  enormitie  (as  thought  me)  and  not 
unlyke  (to  be  playn)  unto  a  masterless  hounde  houlynge  in  a 
hieway,  when  he  hath  lost  hym  he  wayted  upon,  sum  hoopyng, 
some  whistelying,  and  most  with  crying,  a  Ber-wyke  !  a  Berwyke  I 
a  Fenwyke  !  a  Fenwyke  !  a  Bulmer  !  a  Bulmer  !  or  so  otherwise 
as  theyr  capteins  names  wear,  never  linnde  those  troublous  and 
daungerous  noyses  al  the  nyghte  long.  They  said  they  did  it  to 
fynde  ont  their  captein  and  fellowes  ;  but  if  the  soldiours  of  our 
oother  countries  and  sheres  had  used  the  same  maner,  in  that 
case  we  shoold  have  oftymes  had  the  state  of  our  campe  more 
lyke  the  outrage  of  a  dissolute  huntyinge  than  the  quiet  of  a  wel 
ordered  army." — (Patten's  Account  of  Somerset's  Expedition^ 
p.  76.) 


SLOGANS  OF  THE   NORTH   OF  ENGLAND.  '  123 

Notwithstanding  these  honest  and  truthful  remarks,  the  use  of 
the  slogan  is  often  alluded  to  by  our  ancient  historians  and  poets. 
The  French  called  it  cri  de  guerre;  and  an  old  Italian  writer, 
Sylvester  Petra  Santa,  quaintly  terms  it  clamor  militaris. 
Edward  III.  of  England,  in  a  skirmish  near  Paris,  in  mcccxlix. 
cried  "Ha,  St.  Edward!"  (alluding  to  the  Confessor),  "Ha, 
St,  George  ! "  —  (Chambers's  Popular  Rhymes,  Scot.,  art. 
"Slogans"   [pp.  351,352].) 

"  Item,  that  all  soldiers  entering  into  battail,  assault,  skirmish, 
or  other  faction  of  armes,  shall  have  for  their  common  cry  and 
word,  '  St.  George,  forward  ! '  or  '  Upon  them  St.  George ! ' 
whereby  the  soldier  is  much  comforted."  [Quoted  in  Nares' 
Glossary.']  The  hattle-cry  of  the  Irish  warrior  was  anciently 
"  Aboo  !  "  Henry  VII.  forbade  its  use,  enjoining  that  of  St. 
George,  instead,  or  otherwise  that  of  the  Christian  name  of  the 
king.      [  Chambers,  ut  supra.~\ 

A  striking  instance  of  the  esteem  in  which  the  patron  saint  of 
England's  soldiery  was  held  at  the  battle  of  Poietiers  is  given 
in  a  curious  collection  of  poems,  written  by  Peter  Suchenwirt, 
the  German  poet  and  herald  of  the  fourteenth  century : — 

The  Frenchmen  shout  forth  "  Notre  Dame," 

Thus  calling  on  Our  Lady's  name, 

To  which  the  English  host  reply, 

"  St.  George  !  St.  George  !  "  their  battle-cry. 

Mr.  Brockett,  in  his  Glossary  of  North  Country  Words,  derives 
the  word  slogan  from  the  Gaelic  sluagh-ghairm,  the  signal  for 
battle  among  the  Highland  clans.  On  the  same  authority  I  may 
quote  that  "  the  ancient  Britons  had  their  war-song,  intituled 
Arymes  Prydian,  or  the  armed  confederacy  of  Britain,  which 
may  be  seen  in  the  Cambrian  Register.  Tacitus  mentions  the 
chaunters  in  the  army  who  excited  the  soldiers  to  exert  them- 
selves, by  setting  forth  as  examples  the  glorious  deeds  of  renowned 


124  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

heroes.      The  uhoohoo  ceannan,  or  yell  of  the  Irish,  became 

proverbial." 

The  Percy  Slogans. 

1.  Percy  !  Percy  ! ! 

2.  A  Percy  !  A  Percy ! 

3.  Esperance  Percy ! 

4.  Thousands  for  a  Percy  ! 

5.  Now  "  Esperance !  Percy  !  "  and  set  on  ! 

"  The  two  great  princes  of  the  North  were  the  Earls  of  Northum- 
berland at  Alnwick,  and  Westmerland  at  Eaby  Castle." 

Grey's  Chorographia  of  Newcastle-on-Tyne,  1649, 

....  Gernon's  fyrst-named  Brutys  bloude  of  Troy: 
Which  valiantly  fyghtynge  in  the  land  of  Perse, 
At  pointe  terrible  ayance  tho  miscreants  on  nyght, 
An  Hevynly  mystery  was  schewed  bym,  old  bookys  rehearse  ; 
In  hys  schelde  did  schyne  a  Mone  veryfying  her  lyght. 
Which  to  all  the  ooste  yave  a  perfytte  fyght. 
To  vaunquys  his  enemys,  and  to  deth  them  persue  ; 
And  therefore  the  Perses  the  Cressant  doth  renew. 
Old  vellum  pedigree,  time  Henry  VII.,  in  possession  of  the  family. 

No.  1  was  the  rallying  cry  of  the  Percies  used  at  the  battle  of 
Otterbourne  {vide  Froissart).  At  that  fray  the  Percy  standards, 
"  that  every  man  myght  full  well  knowe,"  were  "  the  Whyte 
Lyon,  the  Lucetts  and  the  Cressaunts  both."  See  St.  James''s 
Magazine,  vol.  i.  pp.  369,  370,  an  article  by  Mr.  W.  Hylton 
Longstaffe,  in  illustration  of  the  ballad  The  Rising  of  the  North. 

The  Percy  name,  from  an  extremely  early  period,  has 
shone  forth  as  the  brightest  in  the  history  of  English  chivalry  ; 
and  from  the  union  of  the  princely  houses  of  Alnwick  and  Raby 
sprang  Henry  Percy,  who,  from  his  noble  bearing,  energetic 
character,  and  thirst  for  arms,  obtained  the  honourable  sobriquet 
of  Hotspur.  Unfortunately  the  Percies,  like  their  still  less 
fortunate   relatives,  the   Nevilles,  in   a  later  page  of  history. 


SLOGANS   OF  THE  NORTH   OF  ENGIAND.  125 

attempted  to  overthrow  that  khig  (Henry  IV.)  they  had  been 
so  instrumental  in  raising  to  the  tlirone  ;  for  this  purpose  they 
formed  a  confederacy  with  Douglas,  Mortimer,  Worcester,  and 
the  no-less-celebrated  Welsh  chieftain,  Owen  Glendower.  The 
king  hastened  to  meet  them,  and  ere  Glendower  had  been  able 
to  join  his  forces  with  those  of  "  Prince  Hotspur  of  the  North," 
he  overtook  them  at  Shrewsbury  on  xxi  July,  mcccciii.  ,  where, 
amid  the  conflicting  cries  of  "  St.  George"  on  the  part  of  the  king 
and  that  of"  Esperance  Percy  "  on  the  other  part,  began  the  battle 
of  Shrewsbury.  Here  the  rival  houses  of  Percy  and  Douglas — 
butnowfightrng  on  the  same  side — performed  prodigies  of  valour; 
and  here,  too,  fell  the  gallant  Hotspur,  pierced  by  an  arrow 
from  a  nameless  hand.  With  him  fell  the  confidence  of  the 
insurgents,  and  their  rout  became  almost  instantly  complete, 
Douglas  and  Worcester  were  taken  prisoners,  the  latter  of  whom 
was  beheaded.  In  this  sanguinary  battle  history  records  that 
2,300  gentlemen  perished  on  both  sides ;  while  of  the  common 
soldiers  more  than  6,000  gave  their  carcases  to  fatten  the  already 
blood-covered  field. 

The  latter  cry,  "  Thousands  for  a  Percy,"  was  raised  before 
Wressell  Castle,  near  Howden,  then  the  residence  of  the  mother 
of  Sir  Thomas  Percy,  by  the  followers  of  Robert  Aske,  the 
great  captain  of  the  "Pilgrimage  of  Grace,"  1536.  Sir 
Thomas,  who  was  waylaid  in  every  direction  by  the  insurgents, 
at  last,  between  force  and  entreaty,  was  induced  to  join  them. 
For  his  conduct  therein  he  was  hanged,  drawn,  and  quartered 
at  Tyburn  in  the  month  of  June,  1537. 

The  Fenwick  Slogan. 
6.  A  Fenwyke  !     A  Fenwyke  !!     A  Fenwyke  !!! 

The  slogan,  or  gathering-cry  of  the  clan  Fenwick,  was 
never  heard  in  vain.     Many  border  battle-fields  bear  witness  to 


U 


126  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

their  deadly  strife  with  their  Scottish  neighbours.  The  Fen- 
wyke,  Fenwycke,  Fennick,  Fenwicke,  or  as  spelt  in  moderii 
days,  Fenwick,  of  Northumberland,  were  a  fierce,  resolute,  and 
warlike  band ;  and  not  only  sustained  the  shock  of  many  a 
Scottish  inroad,  but  were  ever  ready  to  avenge  the  real  or,  sup- 
posed wrongs  of  the  English  by  a  furious  raid  into  the  territories 
of  the  enemy.  In  the  ballad  of  The  Raid  of  the  Meidsivire,  we 
meet  with  the  following  verses  on  this  warlike  clan  : — 

We  saw  come  marching  ower  the  knows, 
Five  hundred  Fenwicks  in  a  flock, 
With  jack  and  speir,  and  bowes  all  bent, 
And  warlike  weapons  at  their  will. 

The  House  of  Percy  ever  ranked  the  Fenwicks  amongst  the 
most  constant  and  valiant  of  its  retainers.  In  border  warfare 
the  banner  of  the  gorged  phcenix  in  the  burning  flame  always 
appeared  with  that  of  the  silver  crescent.  The  ancient  character- 
istic of  the  family  is  that  of  "  The  Fierce  Fenwicks." 
Occasionally  we  meet  with  "  the  Fearless  Fenwicks."  In  the 
Battle  of  the  Reidswire — 

Proud  Wallington  (orig.)  was  wounded  sair 

Albeit  he  be  a  Fenwick  fierce. 

m  0  *  *  * 

If  the  amount  of  pride  in  the  warlike  border  chieftain  did 
not  extend  beyond  a  moderate  modicum  of  family  pride,  I  can 
readily  absolve  him  from  so  venial  an  offence,  for  truly  they 
were,  as  the  poet  sings, — 

Rude  border  chiefs,  of  mighty  fame 

And  iron  soul,  who  sternly  tore 
The  blossoms  from  the  tree  of  fame, 

And  purpled  them  with  tints  of  gore. 

See  Gathering  Ode  of  the  Fenwick,  Local  Historians  Table 
JBooky  Legendary  Division,  voL  ii.  p.  95. 


SLOGANS  OF  THE  NORTH   OF  ENGLAND.  127 

Mottoes  of  the  Family  of  Fenwick. 

1.  Toujours  Fidele. 

2.  A  Tous  Jours  Loyal. 

3.  Virtute  Sibi  Pr£emium, 

4.  Perit  ut  Vivat. 

5.  A  Fenwyke  !     A  Fenwyke  !!     A  Fenwyke  !!! 

The  original  motto  of  this  family  is  "  Perit  ut  Vivat,"  a  very 
pretty  pun  upon  the  crest.  Sir  John  de  Fenwicke,  a  warrior  in 
the  martial  reign  of  Henry  V.,  having  served  his  royal  master 
with  great  distinction  in  his  French  wars,  obtained  from  that 
monarch,  in  recompense,  the  lordship  of  Trouble-Ville,  in  Nor- 
mandy, with  permission  to  bear  for  his  motto  "  A  Tous  Jours 
Loyal,"  a  motto  which  the  family  has  generally  borne  ever 
since.  I  have  authority  for  saying  that  the  motto  (No.  1, 
Toujours  Fidele)  is  repudiated  by  the  head  of  the  family.  [The 
late  Mr.  John  Fenwick  of  Newcastle  claimed  the  distinction.] 

The  Tindall  and  Jedworth  Slogans. 

7.  A  Tindall !     A  Tindall ! 

8.  A  Jedworth  !     A  Jedworth ! 

The  Croziers,  of  Lidd,esdale,  had  about  1548  slain  a 
Fenwick,  and  used  him  with  extraordinary  cruelty ;  for  which, 
twenty-seven  years  after,  the  Fenwick  clan,  by  the  guiding  of 
John  of  the  Stonehouse,  slew  several  of  the  Croziers  in  their 
beds.  Sir  George  Heron,  Keeper  of  Tindale  and  Redesdale, 
gave  up  John  to  Sir  John  Carmichael,  Deputy-Keeper  of 
Liddesdale,  for  which  he  was  dismissed  by  Sir  John  Forster, 
the  English  Warden  of  the  Middle  Marches,  who,  contrary  to 
the  usual  etiquette,  as  Carmichael  was  an  inferior,  appointed 
to  meet  the  latter  at  Kemelspeth.  Carmichael  substituted  the 
Redeswire,  and  Forster  agreed.  All  went  on  well  till  a 
Crozier  shot  at  Sir  William  Fenwicke,  or  the  insatiable  appetite 


1 28  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

of  the  Borderers  spurred  them  on ;  however,  a  serious  brawl 
began,  and  ended  in  the  complete  rout  of  the  English,  the 
death  of  Sir  George  Heron,  and  capture  of  Sir  John  Forster 
and  others.  One  account  of  the  commencement  of  the  fray  is 
very  graphic  :  ''  Carmichael  then  said,  '  I  am  as  able  to 
answere  mine  office  in  my  chardge  as  you  are  yours,  and  am 
of  as  good  an  howse  as  yours.'  And  to  this  the  Wardein 
answered,  and  said,  '  You  are  not  so  able  as  I,  for  I  am  the 
Queene's  IMa't's  Wardein  of  the  Marches,  and  you  are  but  a 
Keaper ; '  uppon  w'ch  wordes  and  comparison,  sondrye  lewde 
people  of  the  Scotts  (as  the  Lord  Wardein  and  the  Englishe 
parte  do  affirme)  murmured  and  saide,  '  I  saye,  comparison^ 
comparison ! '  and  thereupon  fell  to  crye,  '  A  Jedworth !  a 
Jedworth  ! '  and  after  departing  thence  did  beginne  the  affraye. 
But  contrarye  the  Scottes  affirme  and  saye,  that  sondrye  of 
the  Tynedale  men  standing  nighe  the  Wardein  and  Carmichael, 
fell  sodeinlye  uppon  the  said  words,  cryed  '  A  Tyndale,  a 
Tyndale  ! '  running  together  and  shott  arrowes  amongst  the 
whole  company e."  According  to  another  story,  the  English  at 
first  had  the  advantage,  and  "  the  Tyndall  men  that  had  no  foed 
nor  will  of  blowes  fell  to  spoyle  the  pedlers ;  among  others  one 
of  Jedworth  being  spoyled,  cryed  '  A  Jedworth!  A  Jed- 
worth ! ' " 

The  ancient  Northumberland  family  of  Tindall  had  the'r 
chief  seat  at  Langley  Castle,  near  Haydon  Bridge.  They  had 
also  lands  at  Lambley,  Wyden,  Newcastle,  Dilstone,  &c.,  &c.  In 
old  writings  they  are  styled  "  Barons  of  Tynedale"  and  Langley 
Castle,  temp.  Henry  11.  (variorum).  Motto  of  the  family  of 
Tindall :  "  Confido,  non  confundar." 


SLOGANS   OF   THE   NORTH   OF   ENGLAND.  129 

The  Shaftoe  Slogan  {See  p,  134). 
9.  A  Shaftoe  !     A  Shaftoe!! 

A  Border  family  of  liigh  antiquity  and  distinction.  They 
were  settled  at  Bavington,  in  Northumberland,  as  early  as  the 
reign  of  Edward  L,  and  are  the  parent  stock  from  whence 
sprung  the  families  of  Ben  well  in  Northumberland,  and  Whit- 
worth  in  the  Bishopric  of  Durham. 

No  motto  is  noted  in  the  highest  heraldic  books,  as  is  the 
case  with  many  families  of  the  most  undoubted  and  extreme 
antiquity.  I  may  here  observe  that  mottoes,  though  hereditary, 
may  be  assumed  and  dropped  at  pleasure.  Originally  they  were 
never  borne  on  the  tunic,  or  other  parts  of  the  dress,  excepting 
in  tournaments,  nor  were  they  introduced  on  banners,  but 
were  placed,  together  with  the  crest  or  badge,  on  pennons  or 
standards.  It  has  long  been  usual  to  insert  the  motto  on  a 
scroll  under  the  shield,  on  seals,  &c.,  but  the  ancient  practice 
was  to  inscribe  it  on  a  circle  surrounding  the  arms,  or  on  a 
ribbon  surmounting  or  emerging  from  beneath  the  shield,  in 
many  fantastic  quirks.  Vide  the  plates  of  seals  in  Surtees's 
Durham.  The  circle  was,  however,  more  generally  devoted  to 
the  name  and  rank  of  the  individual  wearer. 

The  Tarset  and  Tarret  Slogan. 

10.  Tarsetburn  !  and  Tarretburn  I 
Yet!     Yet!!     Yet!!! 

The  Tarset  is  a  tributary  of  the  North  Tyne,  and  runs 
into  it  about  three  miles  above  Bellingham.  The  Tarret  is 
a  branch  of  the  Tarset.  These  streams  run  through  very  wild 
districts,  and  when  the  herds  and  farmer  bodies,  who  inhabit 
them,  meet  at  market  or  fair,  and  get  themselves  quickened  up 

K 


130  THE  DENHAM  TEACTS. 

a  little  over  their  cups,  nothing  can  be  more  likely  than  to  still 
hear  them  cry  ont  in  the  words  preserved  in  the  text. 

Note. — This  local  saying,  which  is  evidently  a  slughorn, 
was  communicated  to  me  by  my  esteemed  friend  and  valued 
correspondent,  Mr.  .James  Telfer,  of  Saughtree  School  (Lid- 
desdaln),  near  Newcastleton,  who,  with  a  wife  and  two  or  three 
children,  declining  health,  and  increasing  years,  is  doomed  it 
would  appear,  without  the  aid  of  some  one  who  can  sympathise 
in  the  extreme  poverty  of  a  truly  self-taught  genius,  to  drag  out 
his  existence  on  a  yearlj'^  pittance  of  less  than  tioenty  pounds ! 
and  that,  too,  wholly  arising  from  the  school.  Such,  too  often, 
is  the  fate  of  those  who  possess  mental  power  of  the  highest 
order. 

[Through  the  aid  of  sympathetic  friends,  and  the  kind  inter- 
position of  His  Grace  the  Duke  of  Northumberland,  Telfer's 
hard  circumstances  were,  I  believe,  somewhat  ameliorated  in 
his  latter  years.  He  died  of  paralysis,  18th  January,  1862. 
Besides  contributing  to  various  periodicals  and  local  collections, 
he  was  the  author  of  two  small  volumes.  Border  Ballads,  and 
other  Miscellaneous  Pieces  (Jedburgh,  1824;  12mo.);  and  Tales 
and  Ballads  (London,  1852;  12mo.)  The  latter  includes  the 
tale  of  Barbara  Gray,  which  had  appeared  in  a  separate  shape 
many  years  previously.  Telfer's  correspondence  was  most 
charming,  and  well  worth  preserving.  I  have  a  few  of  his 
letters.  His  fast  friend,  Mr.  Robert  White,  wrote  a  sketch  of 
his  life.— J.  H.] 

The  following  variorum  reading  of  the  above  slogan  is  very 
popular  under  the  form  of 

Up  wi'  Tarset  and  Tan-etburn, 
And  down  wi'  the  Reed  and  Tyne, 

as  another  of  the  favourite  ''  cries "  of  the  natives  of  those 
districts  when  they  chance  to  be    rather  excited ;    and  is,  as 


SLOGANS   OF   THE   NORTH   OF   ENGLAND.  131 

easily  may  be  supposed,  often  the  occasion  of  many  a  broken 
head,  as  the  lads  of  the  insulted  Tyne  and  Keed  cannot  passively 
hear  their  native  streams  and  vales  depreciated  by  those  who 
dwell  on  the  borders  of  such  insignificant  burns  as  the  Tarset 
and  Tarret  without  seekins:  revense. 

Note. — The  Tyne  here  alluded  to  is  the  North  Tyne. 

I  find  that  the  cry  of  "Yet"  is  still  much  locally  used  in 
amusements,  such  as  races,  cricket  matches,  &c.  &c.,  "  Norton 
Yet,"  and  so  on,  when  a  sudden  turn  of  fortune  occurs. 

["  Many  will  still  remember  a  fine  specimen  of  the  North 
Tynedale  man,  Muckle  Jock  JNIilburn  of  Bellingham,  a  man  of 
gigantic  size  and  strength,  and  endowed  with  a  corresponding 
power  of  lungs.  He  told  that  he  remembered  more  than  once 
clearing  Bellingham  Fair  with  the  Tarset  and  Tarret  men  at 
his  back  to  the  old  Border  cry  of — 

*  Tarset  and  Tarret  Burn 

Hard  and  heatlier-bred, 

Yet— yet— yet.'" 

Dr.  Edw.  Charlton's  North  Tynedale  and  its  Four  Graynes.'] 

The  Blazon  akd  Word  of  the  Northern  Counties. 

11.  Snaffle,  Spur,  and  Spear. 

The  lands  that  over  Ouse  to  Berwick  forth  do  bear ; 
Have  for  their  blazon  had  the  snaffle,  spur,  and  spear. 

Drayton's  Polyolbion,  Song  xxxiii. 

William  of  Deloraine,  addressing  the  lifeless  corpse  of  Richard 

the  Dark  Musgrave,  says — 

*  #  «  ♦  » 

Yet,  rest  thee  God,  for  well  I  know, 

I  ne'er  shall  find  a  nobler  foe  ! 

In  all  the  Northern  Counties  here, 

Whose  word  is  snaffle,  spur,  and  spear. 

Lay  of  the  Last  Minstrel,  canto  v.,  st.  2?, 

k2 


132  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

The  Tynedale  Slogan. 
12.  Tynedale,  to  it ! 

This  slogan,  used  at  the  battle  of  the  Eedeswire,  is 
recorded  on  the  following  stanza: — 

Then  raise  the  slogan  with  ane  shout, 

«  Fy,  Tyndaill,  to  it  !  Jedburgh's  here  !  " 

I  trow  he  was  not  half  sae  stout, 
But  anis  his  stomach  was  asteir, 
Wi'  gun  and  genzie,  bow  and  speir. 

Men  might  see  mony  a  cracked  crown. 

The  Thirlwall  Slogan. 
13.  A  Thirlwall !     A  Thirlwall  !!     A  Thirlwall  !!! 

The  war-cry  of  the  Thirlwall,  of  Thirlwall  Castle  (now 
Philipson)  family.  It  now  forms  a  kind  of  supplemental  motto 
in  the  armorial  bearings  of  that  once  warlike  race,  and  is  worn 
above  the  crest;  the  real  motto,  "  Fide  non  fraude,"  occupying 
the  scroll  below.  The  Philipsons  are  a  junior  branch  descended 
from  Philip  Thirlwall. 

Thirlwall  Castle  is  still  standing,  though  in  a  very  ruinous 
condition,  on  the  site  of  the  Roman  wall,  upon  the  banks  of  the 
river  Tippal. 

The  Eokeby  Slogan. 
14.  A  Rokeby  !     A  Rokeby  !! 

In  the  old  ballad  of  Chevy  Chase  there  is  mentioned 
among  the  English  warriors  "  Sir  EafF  the  ryclie  Rugbe," 
which  doubtless  applies  to  Sir  Ralph  de  Rokeby,  the  tenth 
baron  in  the  pedigree.     Modern  copies  read  : 

Good  Sir  Ralph  Raby  there  was  slain, 
Whose  prowess  did  surmount. 
*  *  #  #  # 


SLOGANS  OF  THE  NORTH  OF  ENGLAND.         133 

This  would  rather  seem  to  refer  to  one  of  the  Nevilles  of 
Rabj  ;  but  doubtless  the  wandering  minstrel  suited  himself  to 
circumstances,  and  sang  "  Raby '^  or  "Ilokeby"  just  as  ho 
found  himself  seated,  whether  in  the  hospitable  hall  of  Raby 
or  in  the  equally  festive  one  of  Mortham. 

"  In  ye  end  of  Hen.  VIII.  his  raigne,  K.  Edw.  the  Sixth, 
and  Q.  Marye's  raigne,  at  Morton  (Mortham,  near  Rokeby), 
then  lived  Thomas  Rokeby,  Esq.,  eldest  brother  and  owner  of 
Morton,  a  plaine  man  as  might  be,  whose  words  came  allways 
from  his  heart  without  feigning,  a  trustye  friend,  a  forward 
gentleman  in  the  field,  and  a  great  housekeeper,  whereby  he 
lived  soe  in  the  good  wills  and  good  hearts  of  his  countrymer 
that  his  Sonne  and  heire,  Cristofer  Rokeby,  being  assaulted  at 
Gaterley  horse  race  by  Cristofer  Neville,  brother  to  the  mighty 
Earle  of  Westmerland,  whom  the  said  earle  had  sent  thither 
with  a  hundreth  men  to  kill  him,  was  both  defended  and  guarded 
from  the  violence  of  his  adversaries,  and  was  able  soe  to  have 
rebounded  the  blowes  given  him  by  them,  that  they  sholde  have 
spilt  the  best  blood  in  their  bodyes  if  his  partye  had  been  willing, 
for  then  not  a  gentleman  in  ye  field  but  they  cryed  ^  A  Rokeby  ! ' 
But  the  good  old  Thomas,  being  in  co'mission  of  the  peace, 
co'maunded  and  entreated  peace,  as  he  said, '  Give  [if,  although] 
itt  grieves  me  to  see  him  bleed  that  bleeds,  yet  peace,  yet  peace,' 
and  therefore  the  king  loved  him  that  colde  soe  well  get  the 
love  of  his  countrye." — Whitaker's  Richmondshire. 

"  This  event  must  have  taken  place  in  the  year  1533,  or  a 
little  earlier.  Christopher  Neville,  who  thus  wanted  to  stain 
his  hands  in  the  blood  of  a  Rokeby,  himself  died  childless  and 
attainted.  The  Rokeby  or  Rokesby  family  continued  to  be 
distinguished  until  the  great  Civil  War,  when,  having  embraced 
the  cause  of  Charles  I.,  they  suffered  severely  by  fines  and 
confiscations.     The  estate  then  passed  from  its  ancient  owners 


134  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

to  the  family  of  Robinson,  from  whom  it  was  purchased  by  tliat 
of  Morritt." — Note  to  Rokehy. 
No  Rokeby  motto  noted. 


The  Berwick  and  Bulmer  Slogans. 

15.  A  Berwick  !     A  Berwick  !! 

16.  A  Bulmer!     A  Bulmer  !! 

In  the  English  accounts  of  the  Expedition  of  the  Protector 
Somerset  against  the  Scots,  these  two  slogans  are  said  to 
have  been  used  by  those  sections  of  the  earl's  army.  {See 
Patten's  Account ^  ?•  76,  already  quoted.)  Berwick  is  variously 
spelt  Berwyke. 

The  Shapton  and  Fenwick  Slogans. 

17.  A  Shafton!  and  a  Fenwick  !! 

This  slogan  is  used  in  the  ballad  of  the  Raid  of  ike 
Reidswire : — 

Then  was  there  nought  but  bow  and  speir, 

And  every  man  puU'd  out  a  brand ; 
'  A  Shafton  and  a  Fenwick '  thare  : 
Gude  Symington  was  slain  frae  hand. 
«  #  *  «- 


The  Neville  or  Warwick  Slogan. 
18.  A  Warwick  !     A  Warwick  ! 

1469.  The  rebellion  against  Edward  IV.  began  at  York, 
and  the  Northern  men  under  Sir  John  Gonycrs,  a  bishoprick 
knight,  "  a  man  of  suche  courage  and  valiantncss  as  fewe  were 
to  bee  found  in  his  dayes  within  the  North  partes,"  joined  the 


SLOGANS   OF   THE  NORTH   OF   ENGLAND.  135 

men  of  Northampton,   and   won   the  battle  of  Banbury  field 
against  Pembroke  and  his  Welshmen. 

"  But  gee  the  happe,  even  as  the  Welchmenne  were  at  poynt 
to  have  obteyned  the  victorie,  John  Clappam,  Esquier,  servaunte 
to  the  Erie  of  Warwicke,  mounted  up  the  syde  of  the  east  hill, 
accompanyed  onely  with  fyve  hundred  menne,  gathered  of  the 
rascals  of  the  towne  of  Northampton,  and  other  villages 
aboute,  havynge  borne  before  them  the  standert  of  the  Earle 
of  Warwicke,  with  the  white  beare,  crying  '  A  Warwike  ! 
a  Warwike ! ' 


"  The  Northamptonshire  men,  with  dyvers  of  the  northerne 
men,  by  them  procured  in  this  furie,  made  them  a  captaine, 
called  B,obert  Hilliard,  but  they  named  him  Robin  of  Redesdale 
(Robyn  of  Redesddale  in  margine),  and  sodainely  came  to 
Grafton,  where  they  tooke  the  Earle  Rivers,  father  to  the 
queene,  and  hys  sonne  Sir  John  Woodvile,  whom  they 
brought  to  Northamton,  and  ther  beheaded  them  both  without 
judgmente." 

The  events  after  the  battle  and  confinement  of  Edward  at 
Myddleham  Castle  are  matters  of  history.  HoUinshed  passes 
on  to  observe  that  Warwick  received  the  northern  men  at 
Warwick  "  with  greate  gladnesse,  thanking  Sir  John  Coniers 
and  other  tlieyr  capitaynes  for  theyr  paynes  taken  in  hys 
cause." 

The  battle  was  lost  by  the  Lord  Stafibrd's  treachery,  because 
the  Earl  of  Pembroke  had  put  him  "  out  of  an  inne  (in  Ban- 
burie),  wherein  he  delighted  much  to  be,  for  the  love  of  a 
damoseil  that  dwelled  in  the  house."  However,  Edward  IV. 
speedily  took  off  his  head. 

The  family  of  Neville  are  descended  from  Gilbert  de  Neville, 
a  Norman,  and  companion  in  arms  of  William  the  Conqueror. 


136  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

Ranulpli  de  Neville  of  Eaby  was  summoned  to  Parliament  as 
a  baron  viii  June,  mccxciv  ,  and  his  great-grandson,  lia\\)h  de 
Neville,  was  created  Earl  of  Westmoreland  in  Mcccxcvii. 
Eichard  de  Nevilloj  was  created  Earl  of  Warwick  and  Salisbury. 
John  de  Neville,  Earl  of  Northumberland  and  Marquis  of 
Montagu,  was  third  son  of  Richard  Neville,  Earl  of  Salisbury. 
George,  son  of  John  de  Neville,  Earl  of  Northumberland, 
created  Duke  of  Bedford  mcccclxix.,  was  degraded  from  all  his 
titles  MCCCCLXXYii.  Neville,  Baron  Latimer,  was  descended 
from  George,  a  younger  son  of  Ralph,  the  first  Earl  of  West- 
moreland. From  the  Nevilles  of  the  bishoprick  are  descended 
the  Lords  Furnivall,  and  Earls  of  Kent,  as  also  is  the  Aber- 
gavenny family.  Richard  Neville,  Earl  of  Warwick,  and  his 
two  brothers,  who  formed  the  most  puissant  branch  of  the 
family,  the  makers  and  dethroners  of  kings,  are  commonly 
called  "the  Three  Great  Brothers.*' 

The  characteristic  of  this  family  is  that  of  the  "  The  Noble 
Nevilles."  Charles  Neville,  the  sixth  and  last  Earl  of  West- 
moreland, forfeited  Raby,  and  other  immense  possessions  in  the 
counties  of  York  and  Durham,  for  his  share  in  the  Rebellion  of 
the  Earls,  A.D.  mccccclxx. 

Hume,  the  historian,  speaks  of  the  Nevilles  as  '^  the  most 
potent,  both  from  their  possessions  and  from  the  character  of  the 
men,  that  have  ever  appeared  in  England." 


Mottoes  of  the  Family  op  Neville. 

1.  Moys  Droyt,  Moys  Droyt. 

2.  Esperaunco  me  comfort. 

3.  Ne  Vile  Yelis. 

4.  Ne  Vile. 

Tlie  Fanes,  Earls  of  Westmorland,  adopted  the  huirs  head  of 


SLOGANS    OF   TUE   NORTH   OF   ENGLAND.  137 

tlieir  ancestors  (on  tlic  spindle  side),  the  Nevilles,  for  their  crest, 
and  give  as  their  niotto^ 

Ne  Vile  Fano, 

a  very  excellent  double  pun.  The  device  on  the  standard  of  the 
Nevilles  of  Raby  was  that  of  the  dun  lull ;  on  that  of  the 
Earl  of  Warwick  (as  before  observed)  a  wldte  hear.  Ralph, 
the  great  Earl  of  Westmoreland,  gave  as  his  supporters  two 
greyhounds  gorged ;  and  in  the  "  Rising  of  the  North  "  tlie 
banner  of  his  luckless  successor  is  thus  noticed — 

Lord  Westmoreland  his  ancyent  raisde, 

The  dun  hull  he  rays'd  on  hye  ; 
And  tlu'ce  dogs  with  golden  collars, 

Were  there  sett  out  must  royallye. 


The  Mowbray  Slogan. 

19.  Mowbray  !     Mowbray  !  ! 

In  the  year  mcccxxxv.  the  English,  led  on  by  Thomas 
of  Rosslyne  and  William  Mowbray,  assaulted  Aberdeen.  The 
former  was  mortally  wounded  in  the  onset,  and  as  his  followers 
were  pressing  forward,  shouting  Rosslyne !  Rosslyne  !  ''  Cry 
Moicbray,'^  said  the  expiring  chieftain,  ^^  Rosslyne  is  gone." — 
(Scott's  Notes  on  the  Ballad  of  the  Raid  of  the  Reidsioire.) 

[Schyr  Thomas  hwrt  was  in  the  kne, 
And  sone  of  that  hurt  deyd  he ; 
Thai  cryide  than  '  Eoslyne,'  bot  he  can  say, 
Iioslync  is  went,  ylie  tak  Mowbray. 

Wyntownis  Chronicle,  p.  19G.  Both  leaders  appear  to  have  becu 
Anglicised  Scots.     Mowbray  afterwards  joined  the  patriotic  side.] 


l38 


THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 


The  Heron  Slogan. 

20.  Hastings !  (?) 

Evidently,  I  think  and  believe,  the  slogan  of  the  ancient 
lords  of  Ford  and  Chipchase  Castles.  The  Herons  also  had  a 
stronghold  at  Twizell. 

Sir  Hugh  the  Heron  bold, 

Baron  of  Twisell,  and  of  Ford, 

And  Captain  of  the  Hold. — Marmion* 

The  Herons  are  an  old  and  honourable  north  countrie  family. 
Their  arms  are :  Gules,  three  herons  argent.  Crest :  A  heron, 
close  proper,  holding  in  the  bill  a  standard- staff,  tlie  banner 
flotant,  thereon  the  word  ''  Hastings."  Motto :  Nil  despe- 
randum. 

The  Bowes  Slogan. 

21.  A  Bowes  !     A  Bowes  !! 

On  the  first  September,  mdclxxxi  ,  Matthew  White,  of 
Ovington,  in  the  name  of  William  Bowes,  of  Streatlam  Castle, 
Esq.,  by  beat  of  drum,  called  some  twenty  people  from  all  parts 
to  Pearcebridge,  and,  in  their  way  to  the  Fishgarth,  near 
Egglescliffe,  about  ten  more  joined  them.  At  Neasham,  Mr. 
Henry  Chaytor,  of  Croft,  and  Mr.  Killinghall,  called  for  ale, 
and  drank  Esquire  Bowes's  good  health,  and  gave  six  shillings 
to  them  to  be  spent  in  drink,  which  they  did  drink,  the  drum 
beating,  and  they  shouting  and  hooping  ''  A  Bowes !  A  Bowes! " 
The  end  of  the  ''  Fishgarth  Eiot "  was  that  these  tumultuous 
people  pulled  down  the  obnoxious  dam  in  the  Tees  there  as  far 
as  they  could,  but  were  prevented  pulling  down  the  whole  for 

*  There  is  better  authority  than  this  in  Raine's  North  Durham,  see 
p.    314.— J.H. 


SLOGANS   OF   THE   NORTH   OF   ENGLAND.  139 

height  of  water.  White  had  premised  io  pay  their  charges,  and 
that  Mr.  Bowes  would  accompany  them,  but  neitlier  engage- 
ment was  performed.  See  documents  in  full  in  Surtees's 
Hist.  Durham,  vol.  iii.  sub.  tit.  "  Fishgarth."  In  the  next  year, 
a  proper  judgment  was  obtained  against  the  dam  as  a  common 
nuisance,  and  it  was  pulled  down  to  the  half  water  {i.e.  I  sup- 
pose, mid-way  across  the  channel),  as  far  as  concerned  the 
county  of  Durham.  Sir  William  Bowes  came  with  a  posse 
comitatus  when  it  was  pulled  down. — Note  in  Mr.  KillinghalFs 
handwriting,  penes  K.  H.  Allan,  of  Blackwell  Hall,  Esq.,  F.S.A. 
The  company  were  armed  with  guns,  pistols,  swords,  and 
various  other  offensive  weapons.  The  "  Fishgarth  Eiot  '"*  was 
probably  the  last  instance  in  which  a  slogan  was  publicly  used. 
Motto  of  the  family  above  the  crest : 

Sans  Variance  et  Men  Droit. 

Motto  bsneath  the  shield : 

In  Multis,  In  Magnis,  In  Bonis,  Expertus. 

The  Stanley  Slogan. 

22.  Stanley  !     Stanley  !! 

This  war-cry  was  raised,  at  the  battle  of  Flodden  Field,  by 
the  followers  of  the  banner  of  the  *'  Stout  Stanley,"  upon  which 
was  the  traditional  device  of  the  eagle  and  swaddled  cliylde. 
The  warriors  under  Loi'd  Edward  Stanley  were  chiefly,  if  not 
wholly,  the  '*  Lively  Wights  "  of  Lancashire,  and  the  "  Chosen 
Mates"  [orig.)  of  Cheshire.  When  the  Earl  of  Surrey  was 
sore  pressed  by  the  enemy,  and  victory  was  inclining  to  the 
Scots,  this  gallant  warrior,  and  his  equally  valiant  countrymen, 
pressed  forward  to  his  assistance. 

■X-  :ic  He  4: 


140  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

And  "Stanley  stout"  tliey  all  did  cry  ; 
Out  went  anon  the  grey  goose  wing, 
And  mongst  the  Scots  did  flickering  fly. 

Although  the  Scots  at  Stanley's  name 
Were  'stonisht  sore,  yet  stout  they  stood ; 

Yet  for  defence  they  fiercely  frame, 
And  arrows'  dint  with  danger  bode.* 

The  impetuosity  of  this  attack  turned  the  fortunes  of  the  day  ; 
and  although  the  Scots  ''  behaved  right  bravely,"  they  were, 
notwithstanding  their  gallant  conduct,  obliged  to  give  way,  but 
not  till  their  monarch,  twelve  e.  e.  thirteen  lords,  upwards  of 
fifty  men  of  note,  and  from  ten  to  twelve  thousand  common 
fighting-men,  lay  dead  upon  that  fatal  field.  This  battle  was 
fought  9th  September,  151b,  and  continued  between  three  and 
four  hours. 

*  Weber's  edition  of  Floddon  Field,  p.  114. 


IV. 

A  COLLECTION  OF  CUMBERLAND  RHYMES, 

PROVERBS,  AND  SAYINGS  IN  CONNECTION  WITH 

THE  BORDER  AND  FEUDAL  PERIODS. 

The  good  old  rule  sufficed  then, 

The  plain  and  simple  plan, 
That  they  should  catch  -who  had  the  power, 

And  they  should  keep  who  can. 

"  Hang  the  Fellow  !  "  quoth  Lord  William  Howard  ; 
or,  according  to  the  version  of  Sir  Walter  Scott  (^Border  Ant.)^ 

"  Hang  them  in  the  Devil's  name." 
Lord  William  How^ard,  of  Nawortli  Castle,  was  appointed 
Warden  of  the  Borders  by  Queen  Elizabeth.*  This  nobleman  was 
much  attached  to  letters,  and  to  interrupt  those  hours  of  study 
was  an  offence  cautiously  avoided  by  the  domestics,  particularly 
as  one  intrusion  had  been  attended  with  fatal  consequences. 

His  lordship  w-as  one  day  engaged  with  his  schoolmen  and 
fathers,  when  a  retainer,  who  had  captured  an  unfortunate  Scots 
moss-trooper,  burst  into  the  apartment  to  acquaint  his  master 
with  the  circumstance,  and  inquij-e  what  should  be  done  with 
the  captive.  "  Hang  the  Fellow  !  "  said  Lord  William  peevishly, 
an  expression  intended  to  convey  no  other  meaning  than  dis- 
pleasure at  the  intruder.  The  servant,  however,  accustomed  to 
the  most  perfect  obedience,  immediately  construed  the  pas- 
sionate expression  into  a  command  ;  a  few"  hours  afterwards, 
when  his  lordship  directed  the  fellow  to  be  brought  before  him 
for  examination,  he  heard  that  in  compliance  with  his  order  the 
man  had  been  hanged  ! 

*  He  never  was  Lord  Warden.  See  Canon  Ornsby's  Introduction 
to  Lord  William  Howard's  Household  Books  (Surtees  Society),  pp.  21 
to  30,  for  contradiction  of  many  of  the  popular  misstatements  which 
had  received  the  sanction  of  Sir  Walter  Scott. — J.  H. 


142  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

The  place  of  execution  was  in  a  grove  of  oaks  near  the  castle, 
and  tliere  many  a  Border  marauder,  both  Scots  and  English, 
struggled  his  last. 

One  historian,  when  relating  the  above  incident,  ascribes  it 
to  one  of  the  Carnaby's,  of  Halton ;  but  we  have  no  authentic 
account  of  any  of  the  Carnaby  family  having  ever  filled  the 
office  of  Warden  of  the  Marches.  <  . 

Belted  Will  Howard,  or  Bauld,  i.e.  Bold,  Willie. 

His  Bilboa  blade,  by  marchmen  felt, 
Hung  in  a  broad  and  studded  belt ; 
Hence  in  rude  phrase  the  Borderers  still 
Call  noble  Howard  "  Belted  Will." 

Imt/  of  the  Last  Mtns.,  Cant.  5,  st.  xvi. 

Fuller  says,  "  When  in  their  greatest  height,  they  (the  moss- 
troopers) had  two  great  enemies,  the  laws  of  the  land  and  Lord 
Will.  Howard  of  Na worth."      Worthies  of  England,  p.  216. 

Mr.  Howard,  author  of  the  History  of  the  Howard  Family, 
p.  lix.,  supposes  that  his  noble  relative  and  ancestor  may  have 
derived  the  characteristic  from  the  fact  of  his  being  in  the  habit 
of  wearing  the  Baldrick  or  Broad  Belt,  which  was  formerly 
worn  as  a  distinguishing  badge  of  persons  in  high  stations. 

Even  at  the  present  day  the  dungeons  at  Naworth  Castle 
still  instil  horror.  They  consist  of  four  dark  apartments,  three 
beloAv  and  one  above,  up  a  long  staircase,  all  well  secured.  In 
the  uppermost  is  one  ring  to  which  criminals  were  chained,  and 
marks  remain  where  many  more  have  been.  In  fact  they  are 
such  places  as, 

To  lie  in  them  one  night,  'tis  guessed, 
'Twere  better  to  be  ston'd  and  press'd 
Or  hang'd     .... 

Browne, 

I  may  here  remark,   that  Bauld  Willie  kept   140  men  at 


CUMBERLAND   RHYMES,   PROVERBS,   AND   SAYINGS.         143 

Naworth  Castle  as  his  general  guard.  I  suppose  this  would 
include  all  the  adult  male  servitors  of  the  castle. 

Lord  William  Howard,  it  is  said,  died  of  the  plague  at 
Naworth,  and  not  at  Graystoke,  as  stated  by  Hutchinson, 
1640,  aged  77  years.  His  remains  are  supposed  to  rest  in  the 
old  parish  church  at  Brampton.     This  church  is  now  in  ruins.* 

"  In  the  drama  of  life,"  the  Howards,  says  an  eloquent 
writer,  "  have  exhibited  every  variety  of  character,  good  and 
bad,  and  the  tales  of  their  vices,  as  well  as  of  their  virtues,  are 
full  of  instruction,  and  anxious  sympathy,  or  indignant  censure. 
No  story  of  romance,  or  tragic  drama,  can  exhibit  more  incidents 
to  enhance  attention  or  move  the  heart,  than  would  a  compre- 
hensive account  of  this  house,  written  with  eloquence  and 
patience." 

The  first  peerage  obtained  by  the  Howards  occurs  in  the  year 
1470.  This  family  are  the  representatives  of  the  illustrious 
families  of  Warrenne,  Mowbray,  and  Fitz-Allan. 

Bessie  with  the  Broad  Apron. 

This  familiar  epithet  was  applied  to  Elizabeth,  the  daughter 
of  Lord  Dacre  and  wife  of  the  above-named  Belted  Will 
Howard,  whose  broad  lands  swelled  the  fortunes  of  this  younger 
brother,  the  progenitor  of  the  families  of  Carlisle  and  Corby. 
This  noble  lady  died  at  the  good  old  age  of  75. 

The  Lord  of  Dacres 

Was  slain  in  the  North  Acres. 

Lord  Dacre  was  a  Cumberland  noble.  North  Acres,  the 
name  of  a  field  near  Towton.  At  Towton,  a  small  village  about 
two  and  a  half  miles  from  Tadcaster,  was  fought  a  bloody  battle 

*  Canon  Ornsby,  in  his  Introduction  to  the  Household  Books  of 
Lord  William  Howard,  published  by  the  Surtees  Society,  p.  Ixiv., 
has  satisfactorily  shown  that  Lord  William  died  at  Greystock  Castle 
either  on  or  about  October  7th,  1640,  not  of  the  plague,  but  from 
natural  decay,  and  that  he  was  buried  in  Greystock  Church. — J.  H. 


144  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

which  commenced  on  the  morning  of  Pahn  Sunday  (29  March), 
1461,  between  the  houses  of  York  and  Lancaster.  History- 
records  that  thirty-six  thousand  were  killed  on  the  field  and 
only  one  prisoner  taken,  viz.,  the  Earl  of  Devonshire.  The 
Earls  of  Northumberland  and  Westmoreland  were  amongst  the 
slain.  Lords  Westmoreland  and  Dacre  were  interred  at  Saxton, 
the  first  without  any  distinguishable  memorial.  Leland  says 
that  Lord  Dacre  has  "  a  meane  tomb  "  there.  From  the  mention 
of  Hen.  VI.  in  the  epitaph,  Whitaker  surmises  that  it  was  not 
erected  till  after  the  demise  of  Edw.  IV.  A  low  stone  wall, 
about  twenty  inches  from  the  ground,  covered  with  a  plain 
stone,  forms  the  warrior's  tomb.  It  is  broken  across  the  centre 
and  divided  into  two  parts,  and  is  unprotected  by  any  palisade 
or  railing.  The  inscription  is  in  Latin,  in  large  old  English 
letters,  cut  round  the  border  of  the  flat  stone.  Enough  remains 
to  verify  the  tomb.  Glover,  who  visited  Towton  Field  124 
years  after  the  battle,  was  told  that  Lord  Dacre,  while  in  the 
act  of  drinking,  was  slain  by  a  boy,  who  had  secreted  himself  in 
an  elder  tree,  at  North  Acre,  in  revenge  for  the  death  of  his 
father,  whom  his  lordship  had  killed  with  his  own  hand. 

Through  the  field  of  Towton  runs  a  small  brook  of  the  name 
of  Cock  ;  of  which  tradition  records  that  it  was  choked  up  with 
the  dead  bodies  of  the  Lancastrian  party,  and  that  it  ran  with 
blood  for  three  whole  days.  This  battle  is  the  last  historical 
fact  recorded  by  Caxton  in  his  Chronicle.  He  was  a  con- 
temporary. 

The  name  of  Dacre  is  supposed  to  be  derived  from  the 
exploits  of  one  of  the  ancestors  of  the  family  at  the  siege  of 
Acre,  temp.  Rich.  Coeur  de  Lion. 

The  Hot  Dacre. 

A  chieftain  of  the  branch  of  "  the  I'd  Dacres  of  the  North  " 
{i.e.f  the  Gilsland  branch)  was  Warden  of  the  Marches  during 


CUMBERLAND   RHYMES,    PROVERBS,    AND    SAYINGS.  145 

the  reign  of  Edward  VI.  He  was  a  man  of  hot  and  obstinate 
character,  as  appears  from  some  particulars  given  by  Sir  Walter 
Scott,  in  his  Mins.  Scot.  Border,  Appendix  to  the  Introduction. 
The  Dacre  Castle  branch  were  called  "  Lord  Dacres  of  the  South." 
The  Earl  of  Surrey  in  a  letter  to  Henry  YIII.  says,  "  There  is 
noo  herdyer  nor  bettir  knyght,  but  often  tyme  he  doth  not  use 
the  most  sure  order,"  as  he  found  to  his  great  cost  at  the 
storming  of  Jedburgh,  "where  he  lost  viii.  c.  horses,  and  all 
with  folly  for  lak  of  not  lying  within  the  campe." 

Sir  Walter  Scott,  in  his  Lay  of  the  Last  Minst.  4  cant.  st. 
xvii.  records  that  a  tune  of  the  name  of  "  Noble  Lord  Dacre,  he 
dwells  on  the  Border,"  was  played  by  the  minstrels  "  as  they 
marched  in  order  to  the  Border  Wars "  [It  will  require 
some  other  authority  than  a  romance  for  the  supposed  tune.] 

King  of  Patterdale. 

Patterdale  or  Patrick's  Dale,  takes  its  name  from  the 
baptisms  of  that  saint,  purported  to  have  been  performed  at  a 
fount  still  preserved  by  the  road-side.  It  is  a  poor  little  village, 
in  which,  however,  if  there  be  little  to  admire,  there  is  nothing 
to  offend. 

The  annals  of  the  Royal  House  cf  Patterdale  are  simply 
these:  On  some  sudden  emergency  in  the  time  of  a  Scottish 
irruption  upon  the  northern  counties,  so  frequently  occurring  in 
the  history  of  our  early  reigns,  a  chief  was  wanted  to  embody 
and  command  the  shepherds  of  the  dale.  In  this  dilemma, 
an  enterprising  peasant  of  the  name  of  Mounsey  boldly 
volunteered  his  services  as  the  leader  of  his  countrymen.  His 
offer  was  accepted ;  and  such  was  the  vigilance  and  precision 
with  which  his  warlike  genius  inspired  him,  that  he  succeeded 
in  effectuating  a  total  rout  of  the  invading  army.  He  was 
accordingly  crowned  amid  the  acclamations  of  the  victors  and 

L 


146  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

proclaimed  king  of  Patterdale.  The  succession  was  of  course 
hereditary,  and  for  some  generations  the  monarch  received  the 
more  substantial  homage  of  his  subjects.  Tlie  family  has  risen 
by  honourable  industry  to  a  state  of  comparative  opulence ;  but 
the  regal  title  and  claims  are  only  chronicled  in  the  memories 
of  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  the  beautiful  vale.  The  ancient 
mansion  of  this  family  is  still  known  by  the  preeminent  name 
of  Patterdale  Palace.  Mr.  Mounsey,  king  of  Patterdale,  sold 
his  regal  residence  in  the  early  part  of  the  present  century. 
His  present  mansion  is  Goldrigg  Cottage,  two  miles  further  up 
the  dale. 

The  family  of  Mounsey  of  Patterdale  have  enjoyed  tliis  title 
time  out  of  mind,  and  the  junior  branches  princes  and 
princesses.  The  king,  who  died  on  the  15th  October,  1793, 
aged  92,  was  a  remarkably  eccentric  being.  Though  possessed 
of  an  income  of  £300  a  year,  he  was  so  penurious  that  if  he  had 
to  transact  any  business  abroad  he  used  to  call  on  a  friend  and 
borrow  his  clothes.  His  own  dress  "  consisted  of  a  heap  of  rags 
and  patches,  his  stocking  heels  were  made  of  leather,  and  he 
wore  clogs  heavily  shod  with  iron."  He  left  property  worth 
£1,000  a  year. — Newcastle  Magazine,  1825,  pp.  524,  52o. 

Bide  Rowley,  the  Hough's  i'  the  Pot. 

A  MS.  quoted  in  the  Hist.  Cumb.,  p.  466,  concerning  the 
Graemes  of  Netherby,  and  others  of  that  clan,  runs  thus  : — 
They  were  all  stark  moss-troopers  and  arrant  thieves,  both  to 
England  and  Scotland  outlawed ;  yet  sometimes  connived  at, 
because  they  gave  intelligence  forth  of  Scotland,  and  could  raise 
400  men  at  any  time,  upon  a  raid  of  the  English  into  Scotland. 
This  saying,  which  is  recorded  of  a  Graeme  mother  to  her  son, 
Rowland,  is  now  become  proverbial.  It  inferred  that  the  last 
piece  of  beef  was  in  the  pot,  and  therefore  it  was  full  time  to  go 
in  quest  of  more. 


CUMBERLAND    RHYMES,    PROVERBS,   AND    SAYINGS.  147 


The  Sun  shines  fair  on  Carlisle  Wall, 

This  line  forms  the  overture  of  the  song  Albert  Graeme,  Lay 
Last  Mlns.^  cant.  6,  stanza  xi.  It  also  forms  the  burden  cf  an 
ancient  Scottish  song  beginning  thus  : — 

She  leaned  her  back  against  a  thorn, 
The  sun  shines  fair  on  Carlisle  wa'; 

And  there  she  has  her  young  babe  bom, 
And  the  lyon  shall  be  lord  of  a'. 

Perhaps  the  saying  (if  it  be  one)  may  infer  that  the  sun  in  his 
diurnal  journey  does  not  shine  on  a  fairer  city  than  "  Canny 
Carlisle."     [An  old  epithet  of  the  town  is  "  Merry  Carlisle."] 

To    SING    NECK-VEKSE    AT    HaRRABY. 

The  neck- verse  was  the  last  verse  in  the  Miserere,  a  psalm  * 
sung  at  executions.  Harraby  Hill  is  about  a  mile  from  Carlisle 
on  the  Penrith  Road,  with  the  River  Petterell  running  under  it, 
and  was  formerly  the  place  of  execution.  It  was  at  this  place 
those  suffered  who  were  taken  and  tried  at  Carlisle  for  their 
connection  with  the  rebellion  of  1745.  Two  heads  were  still 
remaining  on  the  English  gate,  at  Carlisle,  in  the  year  1766. 
One  of  these  was  the  unfortunate  Major  MacDonald. 

Black  Tom  of  the  North. 

The  church  of  Cammerton,  a  small  village  on  the  Derwent, 
near  Workington,  contains  an  ancient  effigy  in  armour  of  a 
renowned  warrior,  who  in  popular  tradition  is  called  Black  Tom 
of  the  North ;  but  who  this  Black  Tom  was  even  tradition 
itself  cannot  tell.     He  is  however  said  to  have  lived  at  the  old 

*  That  is  the  LI.  Psalm,  and  it  used  anciently  to  be  read  by 
criminals  claiming  benefit  of  clergy. 

l2 


148  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

castle  at  Seaton,  where  I  find  one  Ketel  settled  at  a  very  remote 

period. 

Now  if  this  Maister  Ketel 

Had  a  sonne  he  called  Pann, 
I  thynke  yt  very  lykely, 

Black  Tom  wolde  be  the  mann  ! 

The  man  was  ne'er  so  wight  nor  gued. 
But  worthy  Wallace  durst  him  byde  ; 

Nor  never  horse  so  wild  nor  weud 

But  David  Bregham  durst  him  ryds. 

The  manor  of  Ulldale  y/as  forfeited  by  David  Bregham,  to 
the  Lucys  lords  of  Allerdale,  for  joining  the  Scotch  patriotic 
army,  commanded  by  Sir  William  Wallace,  who  was  no  less 
famous  for  his  feats  of  arms  than  his  English  compatriot  for 
his  horsemanship.  ''  Whereupon,"  the  chroniclers  say,  ''  The 
Scots  thus  rhymed  on  them." 

A  Harden  Sark,  a  Guise  Grassing,  and  a  Whittle  Gait. 

Two  or  three  centuries  ago  (and  even  less),  these  were  all 
the  stipend  of  a  Cumberland  clergyman.  The  above,  v.diicli 
has  become  a  proverb,  means,  in  other  words,  that  his  entire 
salary  consisted  of  a  coarse  linen  shirt,  the  right  of  depasturing 
his  geese  upon  the  moor  or  common,  and  the  still  more  valuable 
privilege  of  using  a  knife  and  fork  (?  the  latter)  and  trencher  at 
the  table  of  his  parishioners,  free  of  all  costs  and  charges.  This 
privilege  is  now  claimed  by  some  of  the  rural  schoolmasters. 

The  Cattle  of  Cumberland  are  as  good  as  those  of 
Teviotdale. 

This  proverbial  saying,  used  either  thus  or  inversely,  origi- 
nated with,  and  was  often  made  use  of,  by  the  freebooting  gentry 
of  England  and  Scotland,  resident  upon  the  Debateable  Lands 
of  the  Borders,  It  is  quoted  by  Sir  Walter  Scott,  Lay  of  the 
Last  Minst.,  see  note  to  cant.  L 


CUMBERLAND   RHYMES,   PROVERBS,   AND   SAYINGS.         149 

[It  can  scarcely  be  said  to  be  quoted  by  Sir  Walter  Scott,  as 
his  statement  is  the  original  of  it.] 

The  Capon  Tree.* 
The  proverbial  name  given  to  an  ancient  oak  situate  near 
Brampton.  It  obtained  its  name  from  the  judges  being  for- 
merly met  here  by  javelin-men,  well  armed  and  mounted,  from 
Carlisle,  who,  in  addition  to  the  armour  on  their  backs,  were 
further  loaded  with  a  goodly  number  of  cold  capons  ;  and  here, 
under  the  spreading  branches  of  this  once  stately  tree,  did  the 
learned  judges  and  their  body-guard  partake  of  [what  would 
then  be  regarded  as  a  great  dainty] . 

Carlisle  ;  where  the  officer  always  does  his  work  by  daylight. 
Carlisle  was  celebrated  for  its  numerous  executions,  especially 
for  those  performed  upon  the  poor  but  offending  Borderers, 
both  before  and  after  the  union.  To  this  chief  place  of  "blood- 
offering,"  the  Lord  Warden  of  the  West  Marches,  generally  sent 
his  victims,  not  wishing  to  incur  the  responsibility  of  performing 
that  office  at  Naworth  or  elsewhere.     The  officer  was  hangman. 

*  Six  of  the  prisoners  condemned  to  suffer  in  the  insurrection  of 
174G  were  in  October  executed,  not  at  Carlisle,  but  at  Brampton. 
Those  six  were  Col.  James  Innes,  Peter  Lindsay,  Eonald  Macdonald, 
Thomas  Park,  Peter  Taylor,  and  Michael  Deland  (Mounsey's  Carlisle 
in  1745,  p.  268).  Tradition  says  they  were  hanged  on  the  capon 
tree,  which  for  many  years  afterwards  was  supposed  to  be  haunted. 
It  was  even  believed,  says  the  writer  of  a  local  tale  called  "  The 
Tragedy  of  the  Capon  Tree,"  that  "  on  the  anniversary  of  the  day  of 
execution  the  spirits  of  the  rebels  weie  to  be  seen  flitting  about  with 
airy  ropes  round  their  necks.  They  have  now,  with  the  generation 
which  stood  in  awe  uf  them,  flitted  altogether  away  ;  and  the  once 
famous  oak  which  they  haunted  is  itself  a  tiling  of  the  past,  nothing 
now  remaining  of  it  but  its  stump." — Eev.  H.  Whitehead  on 
"  Brampton  in  1745,"  in  Transactions  of  Cumberland  and  Westmore- 
land Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Literature  and  Science, 
1886-7.  pp.  64-5.— J.H. 


150  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

A  Bewcastler,  or  Bewcastle  Man. 

The  above  phrase  is  synonymous  with  that  of  rogue,  reiver, 
or  thief. 

In  the  list  of  Border  thieves  made  in  the  year  1552,  William 
Patrick,  the  pi-iest,  and  John  Nelson,  the  curate  of  Bewcastle, 
are  both  included.  This  parish  was  for  ages  the  receptacle  of 
desperadoes  who  were  outlawed  both  by  England  and  Scot- 
land, and  continued  their  ferocious  and  nefarious  practices, 
long  after  the  ascension  of  King  James,  which  in  a  great 
measure  put  a  stop  to  the  depredations  made  by  the  banditti  on 
the  borders.  Till  within  a  century,  the  name  of  a  Bewcastle 
man  carried  with  it  a  strong  degree  of  terror,  not  only  to  the 
young  but  also  to  the  old.  Since  that  time,  however,  they 
have  become  as  moral,  honest,  and  industrious  as  their  more 
favoured  neighbours,  with  whom  they  have  a  more  easy  inter- 
course by  the  formation  of  new  roads,  and  the  improvement  of 
old  ones.  Aspersions  are  still  cast  upon  them,  as  horse 
dealers;  a  calling  in  which  some  of  tlie  inhabitants  indulge 
freely,  and,  I  doubt  not,  with  as  much  honesty  and  honour  as 
the  generality  of  those  who  practice  the  same  trade. 

Cumberland,  the  Back  Door  into  Scotland. 

So  is  Cumberland  termed  by  our  early  writers ;  as  also  is 
Northumberland  called  the  Fore  Door. 

Carlisle,  the  Key  of  England  on  the  West  Sea. 

The  same  is  spoken  of  Berwick  on  the  East  Sea.  Both  these 
towns  were  strongly  fortified;  and  to  the  East  and  West 
Marches,  they  were  places  of  arms  and  rallying  points. 

Batablers. 

Inhabitants  of  the  Debateable  Lands  were  so  called;  of  whom 
the  Gremes,  Greames,  or  Grahams ;  the  Nicksons,  Nixons, 
Niksons,  Nexona,  or  Nyksons,  and  the  Crossers,  or  Croziers,  or 


CUMBERLAND  EHYMES,  PROVERBS,  AND  SAYINGS.  151 

Crozers,  were  the  chief.  The  Debateable  Lands  were  also 
called  Threap  Lands.  The  manner  of  these  "Johnny  Arm- 
strongs "  was  to  steal  in  Scotland  and  sell  in  England,  or  vice 
versa,  just  as  was  convenient  to  them.  They  have  even  been 
known  to  carry  the  produce  of  one  of  these  forays  to  London 
for  disposal. 

King  James  VI.  of  Scotland  had  a  favourite  cow,  which  he 
brought  from  "  his  ain  kintry  "  when  he  acceded  to  the  English 
crown ;  but  she,  having  no  taste  for  English  manners  and 
customs,  silently  retreated  without  even  a  farewell  to  her  royal 
master,  the  monarch  of  fom'  kingdoms.  (Note,  that  it  is  re- 
corded that  this  cow  was  the  only  personage  in  his  numerous 
retinue  that  ever  returned  to  Scotland.)  When  the  courtiers 
expressed  their  surprise  how  she  could  find  her  way,  as  she 
could  speak  neither  English  nor  Scotch ;  the  king  replied  "  that 
that  did  not  excite  his  wonder  so  much  as  how  she  could  get 
across  the  Debateable  Ground  without  being  stolen !  " 

The  Raid,  or  Scotch  axd  English. 

This  game  is  practised  in  the  north  by  the  schoolboys,  who 
evidently  have  derived  the  traditional  impression  from  former 
scenes,  and  keep  up  the  remembrance  of  the  good  old  times,  by 
this  Border  play.  The  lads  of  a  village  or  school  divide  them- 
selves into  two  parties,  the  one  Scotch  and  the  other  English,  when 
they  choose  two  captains  out  of  their  united  body,  each  nominat- 
ing one  alternately.  The  two  parties  then  strip  off  their  hats, 
neckerchiefs,  coats,  and  vests,  and  deposit  their  clothes  (called 
wads,*  from  the  old  word  weed)  in  two  heaps,  each  upon 
their  own  ground,  which  is  divided  from  that  of  their 
opponents  by  a  stone,  as  a  boundary  mark  between  the  two 
opposing  kingdoms.  Each  then  invades  the  others'  territory 
with  allthe  care  that  can  be  used,  the  English  crying,  "  Here's 

*  Wad  signifies  a  pledge  ;  A  S,,  wed. 


152  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

a  leap  into  thy  kingdom,  dry-bellied   Scot;"  and  the  Scotch 

also  crying *     They  who  can,  j)lunder  the  opposite 

party.  If  one  is  caught  in  the  enemies'  ground  he  becomes 
a  prisoner,  and  cannot  be  released  except  by  his  own  party. 
Thus  one  side  will  occasionally  take  all  the  men  and  property 
of  the  other.  See  Brockett's  Glossary  of  North  Country  Words, 
Arts.  "  Scotch  and  English,"  and  "  Stealing  Clothes." 

Nag  and   Foot  Tenements. 

This  was  a  sort  of  military  tenure,  by  which  the  holders  of  a 
plot  of  ten  or  twelve  acres  of  land  were  bound  whenever  called 
upon  by  their  superior  lord  tp  follow  him  either  on  nag  or  foot 
as  need  or  occasion  might  be,  at  least  forty  days  in  one  year. 

A  Bastle,  or  Bastile  House. 

It  is  also  spelled  Bastill  and  Bastell.  These  buildings  were 
likewise  called  Barnkins  and  also  Peel  Houses.  These  fortified 
dwellings,  or  Border  strongholds,  were  a  sort  of  castle,  town,  or 
keep,  to  which  was  attached  an  outer  fortification,  within  which 
the  cattle  of  the  vicinage  were  driven  upon  any  sudden  alarm 
as  a  place  of  safety.  There  were  great  numbers  of  these 
buildings  on  the  English  and  Scottish  Borders,  through  the 
entire  line  of  the  marches  ;  and  ruins  of  a  great  many  still  exist. 
Even  as  far  south  as  Mortham  Tower,  near  Rokeby,  Yorkshire, 
we  have  an  exact  specimen  of  one  of  these  Border  fortalices, 
with  its  watchfold,  still  pretty  perfect.  "  These  petty  fortresses 
usually  consisted  of  a  square  tower,  of  two  or  three  stories,  with 

*  In  a  letter  Mr.  Denham  says  :  "  It  has  been  suggested  to  me  by 
a  clever  literary  Scot,  that  your  Scots'  cry  might  be,  '  Here's  a  leap 
into  thy  kingdom  thou  gorbellied  Southron !  '  Tlie  idea  is  very 
characteristic,  and  shall  appear  in  print."  August  21,  1852.  The 
Scots'  saying  was,  "  Set  your  feet  on  Scots'  ground,  English,  if  ye 
daur." — Chambers'  Pop.  Rhymes,  p.  128. — J.  H. 


CUMBERLAND  RHYMES,  PROVERBS,  AND  SAYINGS.     153 

walls  of  great  thickness;  the  chambers  on  the  ground  floor 
vaulted  with  stone,  and  the  entrance  thoroughly  barricaded  with 
an  iron-grated  door,  was  used  to  secure  the  cattle  by  night." 
See  Brockett's  Glossary  of  North  Country  Words,  art.  Peel, 
vol.  ii.,  p.  Q9. 

I  may  say  that  every  castle,  in  the  North  of  England  at 
least,  had  adjoining  to  it  a  village  inhabited  by  the  retainers  or 
clansmen  of  the  lord  of  the  estate,  who  were  ever  ready  upon 
the  summons  of  their  superior  to  issue  from  their  mud  dwelling 
with  their  bow  and  well  plenished  quivers,  targets,  and  swords  ; 
and  if  need  be  with  firebands,  to  fight  the  battle  of  the  lord  of 
the  castle  ;  no  matter  whether  right  or  wrong.  After  the 
union  of  the  two  kingdoms,  when  the  services  of  these  kindly 
tenants  and  rentallers  were  no  longer  useful,  thousands  of  these 
miserably  poor  creatures  were  evicted  by  brute  force,  and 
their  humble  dwellings  were  levelled  with  the  earth.  This 
depopulation  of  the  north,  especially  "  by  the  hard,  unnatural, 
uncharitable,  and  unchristian  dealings  of  landlords ''  was  a 
heavy  curse  in  the  land  for  a  long  series  of  years,  as  may  easily 
be  supposed,  when  the  only  alternative  which  the  unhappy 
creatures  had  was  begging  or  stealing,  as  the  opportunitv 
offered  itself,  till  they  made  an  end  of  their  life  by  an  untimely 
death.  I  can  readily  enumerate  upwards  of  twenty  hamlets 
and  villages  in  my  own  immediate  neighbourhood,  which  with 
the  exception  of  the  foundation  walls,  which  are  buried  in  the 
earth,  have  nearly  or  totally  disappeared  from  the  face  of  God's 
ground.     The  names  of  a  few  follow  : — 


Ulnaby. 

Wycliffe. 

Streatlem. 

Walworth. 

Marwood. 

Barford  near  Streatlem. 

Thornton. 

Rokeby. 

Dalton  within  Streatlem  Park. 

Cliffe. 

Mortham. 

Raby. 

Barford. 

Thorpe. 

Seilaby. 

154  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 


Kneeton. 

Tutta  or 

Keverstone 

Brettonby. 

Tuddah. 

Snotterton. 

Stanwick. 

Westvvick. 

Osmondcroft. 

Newton. 

Sledwich. 

Alwent. 

Girlino-ton. 

Humbleton. 

Dyance,  &c., 

A  great  number  of  villages  in  the  north  which  even  still 
exist  are  left  mere  shadows  of  their  former  selves. 

The  payment  of  a  money  rent  was  totally  unknown  on  the 
Scottish  Borders  at  least,  until  James  VI.  of  Scotland  ascended 
the  English  throne. 

Blood,  Slough,  or  Sleuth  Hound. 

The  breed  of  this  sagacious  animal  was  used  at  an  early 
period  in  the  pursuit  and  detection  of  marauders,  whose  foot- 
steps it  would  trace  with  the  most  unerring  accuracy,  and  a 
Borderer,  either  Scots  or  English,  was  entitled,  if  his  dog 
could  track  the  scent  or  footsteps,  to  follow  the  invader  into 
the  opposite  kingdom,  a  privilege  which  often  occasioned  a 
great  deal  of  bloodshed.  So  late  as  1616  there  was  an  order 
from  the  king's  Commissioners  of  the  Northern  CWnties,  that  a 
certain  number  of  sloughhounds  should  be  maintained  on  the 
English  Border.  Nine  of  these  dogs  were  kept  at  the  charge  of 
the  people  of  Cumberland,  and  stationed  at  the  following  places 
bordering  upon  Scotland,  viz. :  one  at  the  foot  of  Sark  ;  one  at 
the  moat  within  Sark ;  one  at  the  Bailie-head,  near  Arthuret ; 
one  at  Tinkler  Hill ;  one  at  Stapleton  ;  one  at  Irthington  ;  one 
at  Lanereost ;  one  at  Kirklington  ;  and  one  at  Kawcliffe.  See 
Button's  Tour  to  the  Roman  Wall,  pp.  82-83,  London,  1813. 

It  is  said  that  the  Annandale  mosstroopers  or  freebooters 
made  no  bones  of  eating  human  flesh,  and  this  I  can  readily 
believe,  not  only  of  them  but  also  of  others.  In  fact,  we  have 
several   instances   of  their   having   done   so,   recorded   in  the 


I 


CUMBERLAND  RHYMES,  PROVERBS,  AND  SAYINGS.  155 

memoirs  of  those  times,  and  well  authenticated.  Witness 
Lord  SouHs,  a  Scottish  nobleman  of  royal  descent,  who  had 
his  residence  at  Hermitage  Castle.  Soulis,  in  consequence  of 
a  peevish  remark  rather  than  a  command  from  his  sovereign, 
was  suddenly  seized  upon  by  his  enemies  and  boil'd  alive  in 
an  immense  cauldron  at  the  Nine  Stane  Rigg.  When  his  body 
was  thoroughly  sodden  each  of  the  perpetrators  partook  of  the 
broo  :  and  if  this  be  true,  which  is  not  only  supported  by  current 
tradition  but  sober  history,  need  we  doubt  that  they  would 
hesitate  to  eat  the  flesh  of  their  victim  also  ! 

This  cauldron  it  is  said  was  long  preserved  at  Skelf  Hill,  a 
hamlet  between  Hawick  and  Hermitage  in  Liddesdale ;  but 
I  am  jealous  that  the  "  muckle-pot "  which  is  there  shown  to 
the  curious,  is  nothing  more  than  a  modern  affair,  probably  left 
there  by  the  Highlanders  in  the  '45. 

Dagger  Money. 

This  custom  still  continues  of  each  of  the  judges  on  leaving 
Newcastle  having  given  to  him  by  the  mayor  a  bond  fide  broad 
Jacobus,  to  purchase  a  dagger  for  his  defence  during  his  journey 
across  the  English  border  to  the  city  of  merry  Carlisle. 

See  l^orth''s  Life  of  Lord  Keeper  Guildford  [temp.  Car.  IL]  i. 
287,  from  whence  I  infer  that  the  more  ancient  offering  which 
which  was  even  then  presented  to  the  judges  by  the  sheriff"  of 
Northumberland,  was  a  "  dagger,  knife,  penknife,  and  fork  all 
together." 

Deadly  Feud  or  Feides. 

A  fostered  or  rather  festered  animosity  and  contention  existed 
between  the  various  tribes  of  the  wild  Cumberlanders,  which 
also  extended  itself  in  an  equal  degree  over  the  more  favoured 
county  of  Northumberland.     These  deep-rooted  and  inveterate 


156  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

i.ostilities  that  were  inherited  from  a  resolute,  restless,  and 
vindictive  ancestry,  were  long  and  fiercely  prosecuted,  even 
down  to  a  comparatively  recent  period  of  time.  The  details  of 
these  clannish  wars  afford  a  horrid  picture  of  the  state  of  society 
on  the  Borders  of  both  kingdoms,  as  regards  the  habits,  manners, 
and  morals  of  the  people  ;  the  authority  of  the  Crown  was  totally 
disregarded,  and  club  law  universally  prevailed.  Grey  in  his 
Chorographia  sketches  a  most  sanguinary  picture.  He  says  : 
"  If  any  two  be  displeased,  they  expect  no  lawe  but  bang  it  out 
bravely,  one  and  his  kindred  against  the  other  and  his ;  they 
will  subject  themselves  to  no  justice,  but  in  an  inhuman  and 
barbarous  manner  fight  and  kill  one  another  ;  they  run  together 
in  clangs  (clans)  as  they  terme  it,  or  names.  This  fighting 
they  call  their  feids  or  deadly  feides." 


The  Borders  have  become  the  Middle  of  my  Kingdom. 

The  pleasant  conceit  of  King  James  YI.  and  I.,  when  he 
succeeded  to  the  throne  of  England.  And  yet  it  was  not  only 
not  at  the  moment  of  the  king  passing  the  Borders,  but  a 
considerable  further  length  of  time  had  to  pass  over  of  robbery, 
arson,  and  murder,  in  this  unhappy  country,  before  the  in- 
habitants thereof  could  be  induced  to  sit  down  contentedly  in 
peace  and  order,  and  be  satisfied  with  their  own.  At  the  very 
moment  of  the  king's  accession,  or  rather  of  his  taking  pos- 
session of  the  Crown  of  England,  a  body  of  some  two  or  three 
hundred  marauders,  belonging  to  the  West  Marches,  committed 
grievous  robberies  and  riots,  spreading  their  ravages  as  far  as 
Penrith. 

All  praise  and  thanksgiving  be  given  to  Belted  Will  Howard 
for  quelling  the  Borderers,  and  uprooting,  as  it  were,  the  last 
seeds  of  deadly  strife  and  contention  ! 


CUMBERLAND  RHYMES,  PROVERBS,  AND  SAYINGS.  157 

A  Muffled  Man. 

This  was  a  disguised  person,  who  was  made  use  of  on  the 
Borders  of  England  and  Scotland  in  cases  o^ foray  and  invasion. 
The  Miifled  Man  was  not  only  unknown  to  the  enemy  but 
even  to  his  own  friends,  with  the  exception  of  the  chief  of  the 
invading  party ;  and  the  disguise  was  a  necessary  precaution 
for  the  guide's  safety,  for,  had  he  been  known,  it  would, 
beyond  all  doubt,  have  been  the  ready  means  of  costing  him 
his  life  at  the  hands  of  his  enemy,  although  at  a  period  ever 
so  distant. 

Red  Hand  or  Bloody  Hand. 

A  Borderer  caught  in  the  act  and  fact  of  committing  a 
robbery,  or  in  the  act  of  carrying  or  driving  away  the  stolen 
property,  was  said  to  be  taken  in  the  manner,  with  the  Bloody 
or  Red  Hand,  as  it  was  called,  and  was  generally  doomed  to 
the  summary  punishment  of  suspension  upon  the  nearest  tree, 
which  contained  a  limb  strong  enough  to  bear  the  weight  of 
the  luckless  freebooter. 

Carey's  Raid. 

The  spirit-stirring  particulars  of  this  English  raid  are 
minutely  recorded  by  Sir  Robert  Carey,  the  warden  of  the 
West  Marches,  in  his  Memoirs,  p.  151  &c.,  and  it  may  also 
be  met  with  in  Scott's  Border  Minst.  vol.  i. ,  introduction  to  the 
ballad  of  "  Johnnie  Armstrong."  One  anecdote  in  connection 
with  this  celebrated  raid  is,  howev^er,  so  extremely  characteristic 
of  the  Scots  freebooters,  that  it  must  on  no  account  be  over- 
looked. The  '' Liddlesdale  loons"  have  a  tradition  that  while 
Sir  Robert  was  besieging  the  outlawed  Armstrongs  in  the  bogs 
and  forests  on  the  Tarras,  his  enemies  contrived,  by  ways  and 
means  known  to  themselves  alone,  to  send  a  party  into  England, 


158  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

■vvlio  plundered  the  warden's  lands.  On  their  return  from 
one  of  these  "  raids  "  they  exercised  their  Christian  charity  by 
sending  Carey  one  of  his  own  cows,  telling  him  that,  fearing 
he  might  fall  short  of  provisions  while  lying  in  the  waste, 
during  his  Scottish  visit,  they  had  sent  him  a  carcase  of  English 
beef! 


RARE  AND  POPULAR  RHYMES,  PROVERBS,  SAYINGS, 
PROPHECIES,  &c.,  &c.,  RELATING  TO  CERTAIN 
MOUNTAINS  AND  RIVERS  IN  THE  COUNTY  OF 
CUMBERLAND. 

The  Cocker  and  the  Calder, 

Dutton  and  the  Derwent, 

Eden  and  the  Ellen, 

Eamont  and  the  Esk, 

Greta  and  the  Gelt, 

Leven  and  the  Liddal, 

Irving  and  the  Irt, 

Mite  and  Peterill  (o?-  Petterell), 
The  Waver  and  Wampool. 

A  collection  of  the  names  of  the  principal  rivers  and  streams 
in  this  county,  singular  for  its  alliteration  as  well  as  alphabetical 
arrangement. 

Skiddaw*,  Lauvellinf ,  and  Casticand|, 

Are  the  highest  hills  in  all  England. — (Ray.) 

On  the  summits  of  the  mountains  in  the  neighbourhood  of  St. 

*  The  perpendicular  height  of  this  hill  above  the  level  of  the  sea  at 
low  water  is  3,022  feet. 

f  The  perpendicular  height  of  Lauvellin  is  3,055  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  sea.     Lauvellin  is  the  same  with  Helvellyn. 

I  The  same  with  Catchedecam,  which  see  below. 


CUMBERLAND  RHYMES,  PROVERBS,  AND  SAYINGS.  159 

Bees   were  ''  many  wild  cats,  foxes,  and  martins,  with   some 
eagles  ^'  almost  within  the  memory  of  man. 

Cauld  Cornwood,  where  the  Devil  wadn't  bring  his  mother, 
But  carried  her  up  to  High  Crossfell,  where  the  snow  ligs  baith 
winter  and  summer.* 

Cornwood  is  a  small  cultivated  patch  of  country  amongst  the 
high  moors  near  Alston.  Its  bleak  situation,  weeping  climate, 
and  barren  soil,  have  rendered  it  a  subject  of  ridicule  to  the 
more  comfortably  located  inhabitants  of  the  Vale  of  Tyne  ;  and, 
as  in  former  days  the  inhabitants  of  different  districts  in  the 
Border  Counties  were  anything  but  good  neighbours  [excepting 
in  cases  of  Scottish  foray] ,  conflicts  between  such  parties  were 
not  unfrequent.  Crossfell,  which  according  to  the  rhyme  his 
infernal  majesty  preferred  to  the  former,  is  a  neighbouring 
mountain  in  Cumberland,  a  part  of  the  Helvellyn  range — wide, 
forlorn,  and  desolate. 

An  old  shepherd  used  to  assert  that  previous  to  the  hot 
summer  of  1826,  seven  years  snow  was  lying  on  the  summit  of 
Crossfell ;  proveable  from  the  fact  that  a  thorn-bush  near  the 
place  had  shed  the  leaves  of  seven  summers,  which  were 
separated  by  the  snow  of  seven  winters!  This  mountain  is 
estimated  at  20  miles  in  circumference,  and  2,901  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  sea. 

Scawfellf,   and  BowfellJ,  and  Catchedecain§, 
Are  the  three  heest  moontains  'at  iwer  man  clam. 

The  genuine  Cumbrian  version  of  the  above  rhyme. 

*  This  saying  was  communicated  by  William  Pattison.  Mr. 
Denham  when  mentioning  this  in  a  letter  says  :  "  I  valued  him  as  a 
correspondent,  and  he  contributed  to  my  gatherings  no  little." 

t  3,160  feet.  f  2,911  feet  in  height. 

§  Forms  the  crest  of  Swirrel  Edge. 


160  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 


When  Gelt  puts  on  his  Night-cap  'tis  sure  to  rain  ! 

Gelt  or  the  Barn  House  Fell,  is  the  last  peak  of  the  Helvellyn 
mountains.  When  a  thick  fog  or  mist  gathers  around  the 
summit  of  this  mountain  on  a  morning,  the  old  farmers  shake 
their  blanched  heads  and  exclaim,  "  Ah,  Gelt  has  got  on  his 
night-cap,  'tis  sure  to  rain  !  " 

If  Skiddaw  hath  a  cap, 

Scruff  ell  (*)  wots  full  well  of  that. 

Two  very  high  hills,  one  in  this  country,  the  other  in  Annan- 
dale  in  Scotland.  If  the  former  be  capped  with  clouds  or  foggy 
mists,  it  will  not  be  long  before  rain  falls  on  the  other.  *  It  is 
spoken  of  such  who  may  expect  to  sympathize  in  their  sufferings, 
by  reason  of  the  vicinity  of  their  situation.  When  Scotland,  in 
the  last  century,  felt  its  allegiance  to  England  doubtful,  and  the 
French  sent  an  expedition  there,  this  saying  was  revived,  to 
shew  the  identity  of  interest  between  the  two  nations. 

"  There  tow'ring  Skiddaw  wrapp'd  in  awful  shade. 
Monarch  of  mountains,  rears  his  mighty  head, 
Dark'nhig  with  frowns  fair  Keswick's  beauteous  vale, 
He  views  beneath  the  gath'ring  tempests  sail ; 
Secure  nor  heeds  the  rolling  thunders  rage, 
Though  Scrnffell  trembling  marks  the  dire  presage." 

Mr.  Thoresby,  in  his  Diary,  vol.  i,  270-1,  after  quoting  the 
above  proverb,  gives  the  following  passing  notice  : — "  21  Sept. 
1694.  Morning.  Eastward  we  had  the  noted  Skiddaw  Hill 
on  our  right  hand,  Parnassus-like,  which  seems  to  emulate 
Scruffoll  Hill." 

Turn  tua  res  agitur  paries  cum  proximus  ardet. 
*  3,100  feet  above  the  sea. 


CUMBERLAND  RHYMES,  PROVERBS,  AND  SAYINGS.  161 

Inscribed  Stone. 

Tarn  me  over  and  I'll  tell  3'oa  plain. 

The  above  verse  (in  the  adjacent  counties)  is  traditionally 
said  to  be  inscribed  on  a  laroje  block  of  stone  on  one  of  the 
mountains  in  Cumberland,  and,  it  is  said,  is  often  the  means  of 
inducing  unwary  travellers  to  put  forth  an  extra  degree  of 
strength  in  order  to  accomplish  the  injunction,  which  deed,  if 
attended  with  success,  they  then  read : 

Hot  broth  macks  hard  crusts  soft : 
Turn  me  over  again. 

Roby  in  his  Traditions  of  Lancashire  mentions  a  stone  of 
this  class,  which  once  existed  near  Hoghton  Tower,  not  far 
from  Preston.  See  vol.  ii,  p.  175,  where  a  story  of  the  "  wisest 
of  earthly  monarchs  "  in  connection  with  the  said  stone  is  well 
told.     [Alas!  Poor  Roby  !  !]. 

The  version  in  the  south  of  Scotland  is,  "  Turn  me  o'er,  and 
ril  tell  you  more"  ;  and  when  this  is  done  one  may  read  on 
what  had  been  the  under  surface  of  the  stone  :  "  Turn  me  o'er 
again." 

Eidstow  Pike,  Casticam,  Helvellyn,  and 

Skiddaw  Man,* 

Ai*e  the  highest  hills  ever  dumb  by  an  Englishman. 

This  proverb  is  quoted  by  Camden.  [Not  in  Gibson's  edition.] 

A  Morlan  fluid 
Never  did  guid. 

Morlan  or   Marian   (evidently  a  corruption  of  Magdalene) 

*  Upon  the  highest  part  of  Skiddaw  there  is  a  little  peak  which 
bears  this  name. 

M 


162  THE  DENHAM  TKACTS. 

Fair,  the  second  of  the    three  Keswick  Fairs,  is  held  on  the 
second  day  of  August,  Magdalene's  day,  0.  S. 

Floods  are  not  uncommon  about  this  period  of  the  year,  and 
are  by  no  means  valued. 

The  yellerisli  cries  of  Gelt  Brigg  tell 
The  sufferings  of  Duke  Will  in  Hell ! 

At  Gelt  Bridge  a  number  of  the  followers  of  Bonnie  Prince 
Charlie  were  most  barbarously  murdered  by  having  their 
entrails  taken  out  whilst  alive  and  burnt.  The  country  people 
say  that  at  midnight  the  fearful  cries  of  their  murderers  are 
still  to  be  heard.  Tradition  also  points  out  the  spot  where  these 
brutal  and  bloody  acts  are  said  to  have  taken  place  upon  the 
poor  misguided  and  unfortunate  followers  of  the  ill-fated  prince. 

Yellerish — the  same  with  our  Bishopbrigg  word,  yollering — 
i.e.y  making  a  noise  similar  to  dogs  under  chastisement. 

The  Cumberlanders  speak  of  Duke  William  in  terms  equal, 
or  nearly  so,  with  our  more  northern  neighbours,  the  Scots. 
The  common  epithet,  when  speaking  of  his  royal  highness,  is 
that  of  butcher.  A  stanza  of  a  Scottish  traditional  sono;  is  so 
apposite  to  the  textual  rhyme  that  I  transcribe  it  here  :  — 

"  The  deil  sat  girning  in  a  nuke, 
Breaking  sticks  to  burn  the  Duke  ; 
All  the  Whigs  shall  gae  to  hell, 
And  Geordie  sail  gae  there  hisscll." 

Caldbeck  and  Caldbeck  Fells, 
Are  worth  all  England  else. 

The  parish  of  Caldbeck  was  at  one  period  extremely  rich  in 
mines  of  lead  and  copper,  and  a  great  variety  of  other  minerals 
useful  only  for  the  cabinets  of  the  curious.    In  the  lliver  Caldew 


CUMBERLAND  EHYMES,  PROVERBS,  AND  SAYINGS.  163 

an  emerald  was  found  in  1815.  A  loose  sj^eclmen  of  lead  ore 
was  discovered  on  Nether  row- brow^  which  yielded  silver  in  the 
proportion  of  600  ozs.  per  ton.  At  Carrock  there  was  formerly 
a  very  rich  mine  of  copper.  Many  years  ago  a  family  lived  in 
a  hut  on  one  of  the  fells  in  this  parish,  and  coined  silver  money 
from  the  produce  of  the  old  mine  called  Silver  Gill  till  they 
were  discovered  and  forced  to  abscond. 

BoTHEL  Spring  ran  with  blood  on  the  day  of  King  Charles's 

Martyrdom. 

A  singular  item  in  the  popular  creed  of  the  common  people 
in  the  parish  of  Torpenhow,  in  this  county. 

Woe  to  this  Bank  ! 

Woto-Bank,  in  the  parish  of  St.  John,  near  Beckermet,  or 
Beckermont,  is  said  to  have  obtained  its  name  from  the  following 
traditional  story,  which  still  holds  its  place  among  the  legendary 
tales  of  the  neighbourhood : — It  is  that,  once  upon  a  time,  a 
lord  of  Beckermet,  and  his  lady  and  servants,  were  hunting  the 
wolf  in  their  adjacent  domains ;  during  the  lengthened  chase 
the  lord  missed  his  lady ;  when,  after  a  long  and  painful  search, 
they  at  last  found  the  remains  of  her  body  lying  on  this  bank 
slain  by  a  wolf;  and  the  ravenous  beast  in  the  very  act  of 
tearing  it  to  pieces,  till  frightened  away  by  the  dogs.  In  the 
first  transport  of  his  grief  the  words  that  the  horror-stricken 
husband  first  uttered  were,  "  Woe  to  this  bank  !  "  since  vulgarly 
called  Woto-Bank.  This  brief  legend  is  the  groundwork  of 
Mrs.  Cowley's  poem  oi  Edwina,  1794: — 

"  For  faithful  lads  ne'er  pass,  nor  tender  maid, 
But  the  soft  rite  of  tears  is  duly  paid ; 
Each  can  the  story  to  the  trav'ller  tell. 
And  on  the  sad  disaster  pitying  dwell." 
M  2 


164  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 


The   Waste   of   Bewcastle. 

Tliis  mountainous  and  desolate  tract  of  country,  borderint^ 
upon  Liddesdale,  in  Scotland,  in  the  wilds  of  Cumberland,  wns 
formerly  inhabited  by  a  most  notorious  nest  of  English  Free- 
booters. The  captaincy  of  this  district  was  generally  held  by 
the  Chief  of  the  Kixons. 

Cold  Cumberland. 

This  characteristic  is  given  by  Drayton  in  his  Polyolbion, 
song  xxxiii. 

Prophecy  on  Gilsland  Well. 

In  Cumberland  there  is  a  spring, 

And  strange  it  is  to  tell, 
That  many  a  fortune  it  Avill  make 

If  never  a  drop  they  sell. 

The  prophetic  rhymes  are  popularly  understood  to  allude  to 
Gilsland  Spa ;  respecting  which  there  is  a  very  curious  tradi- 
tion, viz.,  that  on  the  medicinal  virtues  being  first  discovered, 
the  person  who  owned  the  land  not  resting  satisfied,  as  would 
appear,  with  his  profits  which  the  influx  of  strangers  to  the 
place  had  caused,  built  a  house  over  the  spring  with  the  inten- 
tion of  selling  the  waters.  But  his  avarice  was  punished  in  a 
very  singular  manner,  for  no  sooner  had  he  completed  the  house 
than  the  spring  dried  up,  and  continued  so  till  the  house  was 
pulled  down  ;  when  lo  !  another  miracle,  it  flowed  again  as 
before. 

Whether  true  or  fiilse,  this  story  of  antiquity  enforces  a  most 
beautiful  moral  and  religious  precept. 


CUMBERLAND  RHYMES,  PROVERBS,  AXD  SAYINGS.  165 


RARE  AND  POPULAR  RHYMES,  PROVERBS,  SAYINGS, 
CHARACTERISTICS,  REPROACHES,  &c.,  RELATING 
TO  THE  INHABITANTS  OF  CERTAIN  TOWNS  AND 
VILLAGES,  AND  ALSO  TO  PARTICULAR  FAMILIES 
AND  INDIVIDUALS  IN  THE  COUNTY  OF  CUM- 
BERLAND. 

Let  us  go  together,  like  the  lads  o'  Drig  and 
and  the  lasses  o'  Beckermont. 

The  city  of  Barnscar,  in  this  county,  though  now  ruined  and 
depopulated,  is  said  to  have  been  built  by  Danes,  and  to  have 
been  peopled  from  the  adjoining  villages  of  Drig  and  Becker- 
mont. Most  extensive  remains  of  the  city  still  exist,  covering 
an  area  of  upward  of  3  miles  in  circumference. 

Beckermont,  also  spelt  Beckermot  and  Beckermet. 

"  How's    THAT  ?  "     SAYS    DUFTON. 

This  saying  is  very  common  in  Cumberland,  and  originated 
with  the  notorious  thief  of  the  name,  who  was  in  the  habit  of 
stealing  corn  from  the  granaries  of  the  neighbouring  farmers. 
Having  first  ascertained  the  whereabouts  of  the  heap  of  cleansed 
corn,  he  then,  by  boring  a  hole  with  an  auger  through  the  floor 
of  the  granary  and  holding  a  sack  immediately  underneath, 
effected  his  purpose.  On  one  occasion  a  farmer,  who  had 
suffered  from  his  earlier  depredations,  had  taken  the  precaution 
of  nailing  sheet  iron  over  his  boards,  and  Dufton,  being  unable 
to  penetrate  through  the  metal,  gave  vent  to  the  above  laconic 
expression,  which  has  since  become  a  popular  saying. 


166  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 


As    FOXD    AS    THE    FOLKS    OF    ToKEN. 

The  people  of  Brampton  assert  that  the  first  coach  that  passed 
through  Token  was  followed  by  a  crowd  of  its  inhabitants  in 
order  to  see  the  big  wheels  catch  the  little  ones. 

Cumberland  Jwohny. 

A  satirical  appellation  for  a  Cumberland  man,  parallel  with 
which  are  the  following: — Essex  Calves,  Hampshire  Hogs, 
Kentish  Long  Tails,  Dorsetshire  Dorsers,  Huntingdon  Stur-. 
geons,  Lancashire  Lonks,  Lincolnshire  Bagpipers,  Leicestershire 
Bean-bellies,  London  Lick-pennies,  Middlesex  Clowns,  Norfolk 
Dumplings,  Yorkshire  Tykes,  and  several  others  which  I  could 
enumerate. 

Long  Meg  and  her  Daughters. 

A  little  from  the  conflux  of  the  Eden  and  Eimont  are  two 
villages  and  forts  called  Great  and  Little  Salkeld.  At  Little 
Salkeld  is  a  circle  of  stones  80  yards  in  diameter,  77  in 
number,  each  10  feet  high,  and  before  them,  at  the  entrance,  is 
a  single  one  by  itself  15  feet  in  height;  this  the  common  people 
call  Long  Meg,  and  the  rest  her  Daughters.  Within  the  circle 
are  two  heaps  of  stones  (?  cairns),  under  which  it  is  said  human 
bodies  are  interred.  It  is  thought  to  have  been  a  monument 
erected  in  honour  of  sonie  victory,  or  at  the  solemn  investiture 
of  some  Danish  King.  This  collection  of  stones  is  alluded  to 
by  the  three  Norwich  soldiers  who  visited  the  north  in  1634 
"  Stony  Meg  and  her  77  daughters  as  hard-hearted  as 
herselfe." 

This  descriptive  name  coincides  pretty  well  with  a  monument 
of  similar  character  in  Northumberland,  known  as  ^'  The  Mare 
and  her  Foal." 


CUMBEKLAND  RHYMES,  PEOVERBS,  AND  SAYINGS.  167 

[Long  Meg  and  her  Daughters  was  noticed  by  the  Eev.  John 
Horsley  (1729-30).  "The  area  contained  within  is  about  two 
acres.  There  was  formerly  a  large  barrow,  but  now  the  stones 
thereof  are  removed.  The  ground  was  opened  out  by  order  of 
the  late  Bishop  Nicolson,  and  some  urns  were  discovered.  This 
confirms  me  that  such  like  monuments,  even  Stonehenge  itself, 
are  sepulchral."  Inedited  Contributions  to  the  Hist,  of  Northum- 
herland,  p.  14. — J.  H.] 


PROVERBS    ON   THE   ANCIENT    FAMILIES   OF 
SENHOUSE   AND   BALLANTYNE,   &c. 

1,  Either   the   Devil   or   Dick    Senhouse. 

The  family  of  Senhouse,  of  Wetherall,  though  always  highly 
respectable,  was  no  exception  to  the  old  adage  that  there's 
always  a  fool  in  a  family  (alluding,  doubtless,  to  the  ancient 
practice  of  keeping  professional  fools  for  amusement).  One  of 
that  race  was  such  a  scant-o'-grace,  or,  to  use  a  good  old  word, 
such  a  wastrell,  that  when  anything  especially  unco'  was  done 
in  the  neighbourhood,  the  people  were  in  the  habit  of  saying  it 
must  either  be  the  Devil  or  Dick  Senhouse,  which  is  a  proverb 
to  this  day. 

2.  Down  with  an  Ace  and  up  with  a  Tray, 

Or  fare  thee  well,  Worthell,  for  ever  and  aye. 

A  member  of  the  old  family  of  Ballantyne  of  Dovenby  was 
as  noted  for  gambling  as  Dick  Senhouse  for  every  other  folly. 
It  is  said  of  him  that  one  day,  Avhen  he  was  playing  at  the 
ancient  game  of  put  (possibly  with  his  good  neighbour  Dick), 
and  one  of  his  best  farms  was  the  stake — though  the  gods  had 


168  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

not  made  him  poetical,  yet  fear  or  rage  did — facit  indignatio 
versum,  and  he  exclaimed  in  the  above  rhymes,  which  have 
since  passed  into  a  proverb. 

It  seems  that  the  King  of  Spades  heard  and  granted  his 
petition^  for  Worthell  is  still  in  possession  of  the  family. 

Worthell  Hall,  variously  spelt  Worthall  and  Warthel,  is 
situate  in  the  village  of  Gilchrist.*  To  perpetuate  the  remem- 
brance of  this  event,  he  had  sculptured  on  the  one  end  of  his 
house,  in  accordance  with  the  following  various  reading  of  the 
rhymes,  the  figure  of  the  card  Duce,  and  a  Tray  on  the  other, 
which  remain  at  the  present  day. 

3    Up  now  Duce,  or  else  a  Tray, 

Or  Worthell's  gone  for  ever  and  aye. 

4.  I  will  do  it  in  spite  of  the  Devil  and 

Dick  Senliouse. 

5.  The  Senliouses  learn  to  play  at  Cards  in 

tlieir  mothers'  bellies. 

The  Senliouses  of  Netherall,  or  Alneburgh  Hall,  and  Sea- 
scale,  became  proverbial  for  their  predilections  for  cards  and 
dice.  Even  Richard  Senliouse,  who  was  appointed  to  the  See 
of  Carlisle  in  1624,  could  drip  the  die  so  pat,  that  one  day 
at  table  with  another  to  whom  he  was  a  stranger,  his  fellow 
exclaimed,  in  the  words  of  the  well-known  Cumberland  saying, 
"  Surely  it  is  either  the  Devil  or  Dick  Senliouse."  When 
joung  Senhouse  was  a  Cambridge  scholar,  coming  down  into 
the  country  to  see  his  friends  and  relations,  his  horse  happened 
to  cast  a  shoe,  but  he  had  no  money  to  pay  the  charges. 
"Well,  well!"  says  the  good-natured  vulcan,  ''go  your  way, 
and  when  you  are  bishop  of  Carlisle  you  must  then  pay  me." 
This  little  incident  was  never  forgotten  by  Senliouse,  and  both 

*  See  Dr.  Dryasdust's  Common  Place  Book,  p.  231-2. 


CUMBERLAND  RHYMES,  PROVERBS,  AND  SAYINGS.  169 

before  and  after  he  was  bishop  of  Carlisle  he  paid  the  honest 
blacksmith  most  abundantlj.  Fuller  says  that  Bishop  Senhouse 
was  a  valiant  man  in  his  younger  days,  and  that  in  his  old  ago 
he  felt  the  admonitions  of  his  youthful  over-violent  exercises. 

6.  Symon  Senus,  Prior,  sette  y^^  roofe  and 
scallope  here, 
To  ye  intent  wythin  tliys  place  they  shall  have 
prayers  every  daye  in  y^  year. 

Within  the  deanery,  Carlisle,  is  a  curious  painted  ceiling. 
It  is  in  many  compartments,  and  consists  of  angels  holding 
shields  of  arms,  with  labels  inscribed  with  sentences  of  piety 
or  supplication,  and  ornamented  with  roses,  birds,  scallop- 
shells,  etc.  On  the  sides  of  the  cross-beams  are  several  rude 
couplets.  It  was  the  work  of  Symon  Senus  (Senhouse),  who 
became  prior  about  the  year  1507. 

There  will  be  Dry  Eyes  at  Holme  when  he  Dies. 

The  above  saying,  which  is  prevalent  in  the  north-west  part 
of  the  county,  is  valuable  as  characteristic  of  the  dour  and 
satirical  disposition  of  the  natives.  When  they  wish  to  say  a 
particularly  severe  thing  ngainst  any  of  the  gentry,  they  re- 
mark, "  When  he  dies  there  will  be  dry  eyes  at  Holme." 

Holme,  Abbey-Holme,  or  Holme  Cultram  Abbey,  is  the 
ancient  burying-place  of  the  gentry  of  that  portion  of  Cumber- 
land.    In  this  cemetery  Richard  of  Musgrave  lies  buried  : — 

Thence  to  Holme  Cul tram's  lofty  nave, 
And  laid  him  in  his  father's  grave. 

Lay  of  the  Last  Minstrel. 

Observe,  that  Holme  is  a  pun  on  home. 

If  she  says  she  will,  she  will ;   she's 
Bessy  o'  Borrovvdale. 


170  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

A  colloquial  phrase  somewhat  parallel  with  that  of  Newcastle, 
viz.:  "  Honour  bright,  Bet  Watt." 

Epitaph. 

John  Bell,  broken-brow 

Ligs  under  this  stean  : 
Four  of  mine  een  Sonnes 

Laid  it  on  my  weam. 
I  was  a  man  of  my  meate, 

Master  of  my  wife. 
I  lived  on  mine  own  land 

Without  mickle  strife. 

Epitaph,  from  Camden's  Remains,  at  Farlam,  near  Naworth 
Castle,  a  manor  in  Gilsland  Barony. 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  will  of  another  Cumberland 
worthy  of  the  same  "  wight  ridyng  Sirname,  gud  honast  menne 
and  true,  savynge  a  little  shiftyng  for  their  lyviug,  God  and  our 
Leddie  help  them  silie  pure  men."* 

I  John  Bell, 

Leaves  this  mell 

For  to  fell 
Them  that  gie  all  to  their  bairns 
And  keep  nought  for  their  sell. 

A  superstition  once  existed  in  the  belief  that  a  holy  mawl 
(mell)  hung  behind  the  church  door,  which  when  the  father 
of  a  family  was  70  years  of  age,  his  eldest  son  might  go  and 
fetch  and  knock  his  father  on  the  head,  as  he  had  become  help- 
less to  himself,  and  of  no  more  use  to  his  family.  Old  Master 
Aubrey  is  pretty  diffuse  on  this  singular  superstition. 

♦  Bullein's  '*  Dialogue  bothe  pleasant  and  pietifull,"  &c.,  London, 
1573,  reprinted  in  Rambles  in  Northumberland,  ^c ,  p.  332.  London, 
1835. 


CUMBERLAND  RHYMES,  PROVERBS,  AND  SAYINGS.  171 

Is  not  the  above  superstition  preserved  in  the  following  rhym- 
ing quatrain  still  popular  in  Berwickshire? — 

Young  Willie,  auld  Willie, 

Willie  amang  the  bairns ; 
Ance  we  get  another  Willie 

We'll  knock  out  auld  Willie's  hairns.* 

In  Scotland  we  also  meet  with  the  following  rhymes : 

Auld  Wull,  and  young  Wull, 

And  Wull  o'  middle  age ; 
Ance  we  get  another  Wull, 

We'll  lock  auld  Wull  in  a  cage. — Berwick. 

The  popular  Scots  version  of  the  textual  rhyme  is : — 

He  that  takes  a'  his  gear  frae  himsel 

An  gies  to  his  bairns, 
It  were  weel  wair'd  to  take  a  mell 

An  knock  out  his  hairns  (i.e.  brains). 

Need  I  refer  to  the  only  too  well-known  usage  of  the  South 
Sea  Islanders,  destroying  living  persons  as  soon  as  they  become 
a  burden  to  others  ?  An  aged,  or  impotent,  or  decrepit  person 
is  rarely  seen  amongst  them. 

The  Italians  have  the  following  proverb  : — 

Chi  da  il  suo  inanzi  morire,  il  s'apparechia  assai  patire. 

So  also  the  Spaniards  have : — 

Quien  da  la  suyo  antes  de  moriz  aparejese  a  bien  sufrez. 

"  Who  parts  with  his  own  before  his  death,  let  him  prepare 
for  patience."     [See  Folklore^  vol.  i.] 

The  Organs  would  blow  Bishop  Potter  out  of  the  Church. 

Barnaby  Potter  was  Bishop  of  Carlisle  from  1628  to  1641 
(a  troublous  period).      He  was   a  native   of  Kendal    Barony, 

*  Brains. 


172  THE  DEXHAM  TRACTS. 

and  was  commonly  called  the  puritanical  bishop.  They  would 
say  of  him  in  the  reign  of  King  James  that  organs  would 
blow  him  out  of  the  Church. 

Georgius  Cliffordius  Cumberlandius, 
Doridus :  regno  :  clarus  :  cum :  vi  :  fulgebis. 

Fuller. 

The  anagram  of  George  Clifford  I'd  Vescye,  Earl  of  Cum- 
berland, temp.  Eliz.  and  James.     He  died  1605. 

I  living  planted  trees  :  of  one  is  made 
The  chest  wherein  my  body  now  is  laid. 

In  the  churchyard  of  the  village  of  RochclifFe  is  the  above 
singular  inscription  on  a  tombstone,  to  the  memory  of  the  Kev. 
W.  Robinson. 

To  see  King  George  hung  up  at  Eome, 
To  see  Frince  Charley  crowned  at  Scone  : 
To  see  England  tax'd,  and  Scotland  free, 
It  wad  be  the  first  thing  that  wad  dan  ton  me. 

This  stanza,  from  an  old  Jacobite  ballad,  assumes  a  rather 
prominent  feature  in  the  history  of  merry  Carlisle.  Its  history 
is  as  follows  :  Jean  Gordon,  the  poor  and  aged  widow  of  a  wan- 
dering tinker,  arrived  at  Carlisle  in  one  of  her  rambles  after 
the  rebellion,  and  on  going  up  to  Eickergate  she  spied  the  heads 
of  some  of  the  rebels  on  the  top  of  Scothgate.  Having  an 
ardent  regard  for  the  Stuart  family,  old  Jean  broke  out  in  a 
most  furious  rage  against  the  house  of  Hanover  and  the 
English  nation,  and  at  intervals  she  lilted  up  the  above  verses. 
Poor  Jean,  who  had  been  driven  to  a  state  of  derangement  by 
the  wickedness  of  two  vagabond  sons,  was  left  without  a  friend 
to  rescue  her  from  the  vengeance  of  a  tumultuous  and  brutal 
mob,  who  severely  beat  and  ducked  her  in  the  river ;  where. 


CUMBERLAND  RHYMES,  PROVERBS,  AND  SAYINGS.     173 

whenever  she  got  her  head  above  the  water,  she  shouted  "  Up 
wi'  Charley  yet ! "  The  vulgar  crowd,  at  length,  having 
dreadfully  bruised  and  nearly  drowned  the  poor  old  creature, 
left  her  to  shift  for  herself.  She  was  found  dead  next  morning, 
under  a  hedge,  near  the  city. 

Wully's  Black  Horse. 
Tradition  tells  us  that  in  the  '45  the  retreating  rebels  halted 
upon  Beacon  Hill  near  Penrith  (which  overlooks  the  town),  for 
the  purpose  of  planning  its  destruction ;  but  mistaking  a  distant 
plantation  of  trees  for  Wully's  Black  Horse,  or  at  least  some 
portion  of  their  pursuing  enemy,  they  precipitately  "fled  away 
and  got  them  gone."  For  many  long  succeeding  years  this 
plantation  was  jocosely  known  as  the  Duke  of  Cumberland's 
Horse,  but  more  generally  by  that  of  Wully's  Black  Horse. 

Sir  Rowland  Vaux,  that  sometime  was  the  Lord  of  Triermaine, 
Is  dead,  his  body  clad  in  lead,  and  ligs  law  under  this  stane, 
Evin  as  we,  evin  so  was  he,  on  earth  a  levan  man, 
Evin  as  he,  evin  so  maun  we,  for  all  the  craft  we  can. 

This  epitaph  with  slightly  varied  orthography  is  (1880) 
inscribed  on  a  brass  in  Lanercost  Priory  Church. — J.  H. 

Under  this  hedge  in  frosty  weather, 
I  joined  this  whore  and  rogue  together  ; 
Let  none  but  Jove  who  rules  the  thunder. 
Then  put  this  whore  and  rogue  asunder. 

Salathiel  Court  was  born  at  Papcastle  in  the  parish  of  Bride- 
kirk,  in  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century.  He  was  a 
schoolmaster ;  but  being  of  extremely  intemperate  habits,  he 
often  had  to  replenish  his  empty  pitcher  by  painting  signboards 
for  the  publicans,  and  celebrating  illicit  marriages.  For  an 
offence  of  the  latter  class  he  was  ultimately  transported  to 
America. 


174  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

Tlie  above  versos  he  sent  to  a  neighbouring  magistrate  as  the 
certificate  of  the  union  of  two  profligates. 


He  that  fetcheth  a  wife  from  Shrewsbury  must  carry  her  into 
Staffordshire,  or  else  he  shall  live  in  Cumberland. 

No  explanation  that  I  have  hitherto  seen  of  the  above  singular 
phrase  is  worth  the  trouble  of  copying.  Even  the  following 
variation  is  equally  mystical. 

He  that  takes  a  wife  at  Shrewsbury  must  carry  her  into  Stafford- 
shire, or  else  she'll  drive  him  to  Cumberland. — Fuller. 

In  fact,  the  saying  appears  to  have  been  a  puzzle  or  conundrum 
to  every  annotator  of  our  English  Proverbial  Philosophy.  I  take 
it,  however,  to  be  simply  a  pun  upon  the  first  syllables  of  the 
above-named  town  and  counties,  viz. :  shrew,  staff,*  and  cumber, 
and  if  I  am  correct,  it  will  bear  the  following  translation  : — 

If  a  man  marries  a  shrew  {ie.  a  peevish,  malignant,  clamorous, 
spiteful,  vexations,  turbulent  woman),  he  must  take  a  staff  to 
her  back  ;  otherwise  (as  Petticoats  wear  the  Breeches),  she  will 
ere  long  begin  to  lead  him  a  sad  Cuniberf-somo  life. 

Grose  has  ])reserved  a  southern  parallel  proverb,  which  also 
must  be  explained  by  the  rule  laid  down  in  the  above  note. 
The  proverb  is : — 

An  old  man  who  weds  a  buxom  young  maiden  biddeth  fair  to 
become  a  freeman  of  Buckingham. 

*  In  soro  and  car  he  led  hys  life, 

That  have  a  schrow  ontyll  his  wyfe. 

MS.  XV.  cent. 
+  Eed  the  cumber.     Ballad  of  the  Raid  of  Eeidsivire  ;  that  is, 
Quell  the  tumult.     Again,  Carey,    Earl  of  Monmouth,  1598,  says, 
"  The  outlaws  of  Liddlesdale  kept  him  a  great  while  in  cumber," 
i.e.  trouble. 


CUMBERLAND  EHYMES,  PROVERBS,  AND  SAYINGS.  175 


A    BORROWDALE    FeLLOW,    OR    TuMMY. 

That  is  an  ignorant  fellow.  Borrowdale,  an  extremely  wild 
out  of  the  way  valley,  commences  at  the  head  of  Derwent  lake, 
and  at  an  early  period  was  called  Bore,  or  Boar-dale.  The 
mountain  at  its  southern  extremity  is  still  called  Sty-Head; 
and  is  said  to  be  the  place  where  wild  boars  "  were  wont  to  feed 
in  summer,  and  fall  down  in  autumn  into  this  dale,  where  they 
fed  upon  nuts  and  acorns." 

Sandies  Bairns. 

In  the  list  of  Border  Clans,  1597,  Will  of  Kinmonth,  with 
Kirsty  Armstrang,  and  John  Skynbank,  are  mentioned  as 
leaders  of  a  band  of  Armstrangs,  called  Sandies  Bairns, 
inhabiting  the  Debateable  Lands.  Scott's  Bord.  Mins.  Note 
on  Kinmont  Willie. 

Tacking  Men. 

"  lately  on  the  Borders, 
Where  there  was  nought  but  theft  and  murders, 
Rapine,  cheating,  and  resetting, 
Slight-of-hand  fortunes  getting  ; 
Their  designation,  as  ye  ken. 
Was  all  along  the  Tacking  Men." 

Cleland. 

What  manner  of  cattle-stealers  they  are  that  inhabit  these 
valleys  in  the  inarches  of  both  kingdoms  John  Lesley,  himself  a 
Scotchman,  and  bishop  of  Ross,  will  inform  you.  They  saUy 
out  of  their  own  Borders  in  the  night,  in  troops,  through 
unfrequented  by-ways  and  many  intricate  widings.  All  the 
day-time  they  refresh  themselves  and  their  horses  in  lurking 
holes,  they  had  pitched  upon  before,  till  they  arrive  in  the  dark 
in  those  places  they  have  a  design  upon.     As  soon  as  they  have 


176  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

seized  upon  the  booty,  they  in  like  manner  return  home  in  the 
night,  through  blind  ways,  and  fetching  many  a  compass.  Tlie 
more  skilful  any  captain  is  to  pass  through  these  wild  deserts, 
crooked  turnings,  and  deep  precipices  in  the  thickest  mists,  his 
reputation  is  the  greater,  and  he  is  looked  upon  as  an  excellent 
head.  And  they  are  so  very  cunning  that  they  seldom  have 
their  booty  taken  from  them,  unless  when,  by  the  help  of  blood- 
hounds followed  them  exactly  upon  the  track,  they  may  chance 
to  fall  into  the  hands  of  their  adversaries.  When,  being  taken, 
they  have  so  much  persuasive  eloquence,  and  so  many  smooth 
insinuating  words  at  command,  that  if  they  do  not  move  their 
judges,  nay  and  even  their  adversaries  (notwithstanding  the 
the  severity  of  their  natures),  to  have  mercy,  yet  they  incite 
them  to  admiration  and  compassion. — Camden's  Britannia. 

These  gentry  were  also  called  prickers,  riders,  reavers,  moss- 
troopers, freebooters,  cattle-drivers,  hobbylers,  lifters,  limners 
[limmers?],  marchmen,  borderers,  nights'-men,  bogtrotters, 
mossers,  snatchers — 

Full  oft  the  Tynedale  snatchers  knock 
At  the  lone  gate  and  try  the  lock. 

La?/  of  the  Last  Minstrel. 

Archee  Armstroxg's  Stool  of  Eepentance. 

Archibald  Armstrong,  a  native  of  Arthuret,  was  the  recog- 
nised jester  or  fool  of  James  the  First,  and  allowed  his  tongue 
full  license.  Archee  fell  into  disgrace  at  court  for  calling  Laud, 
the  Archbishop  of  Canterburj'-,  "  a  monk,  a  rogue,  and  a 
traitor,"  and  for  this  offence  had  his  coat  pulled  over  his  head 
and  was  kicked  out  of  court,  never  more  to  enter.  He  had, 
however,  before  this  event  took  place,  made  a  considerable 
fortune.  On  the  introduction  of  the  Liturgy  into  Scotland  he 
jestingly  called  the  stool  flung  at  the  dean,  who  read  the  epis- 
copal  service   in    Edinburgh,    the    stool    of  repentance — but 


CUMBERLAND  RHYMES,  PROVERBS,  AND  SAYIKGS.  177 

Archee's  jests  brought  his  own  breech  in  contact  with  the  stool 
of  repentance  sooner  than  lie  calculated  upon. 

One  day,  when  Archbishop  Laud  was  just  about  to  say  grace 
before  dinner,  Archee  begged  permission  of  the  king  to  perform 
that  office  in  his  stead ;  and  having  received  it,  said,  "  All 
pra'se  to  God,  and  little  Laud  to  the  Devil." 

Another  story  told  of  daft  Archee  who,  "  Armstrong  like, 
thieves  all,"  had,  it  seems,  an  appetency  for  reiving  in  a  small 
way,  and  having  one  day  stolen  one  of  his  neighbour's  sheep, 
and  being  suspicious  that  the  owner  knew  the  road  it  had 
travelled,  he  placed  the  dead  animal  in  the  cradle  by  the  fire- 
side, and  by  that  cunning  trick  he  avoided  detection. 

Archee  in  age  retired  into  Cumberland,  and  dying  at 
Arthuret,  was,  appropriately  enough,  buried  in  the  cemetery- 
garth  of  his  native  town  on  All  Fools'  Day. 

The  Lady's  Dowry. 

In  Naworth  Castle  was  a  bedstead,  on  the  purchase  of  which, 
tradition  says,  was  expended  the  enormous  sum  of  five  hundred 
jiounds,  the  whole  fortune  of  the  lady  of  one  of  the  olden  barons. 
And  from  this  circumstance  it  derived  its  name  of  the  Lady's 
Dowry.  But  all  is  now  gone,  lady,  dower,  and  bedstead  ;  and 
not  a  vestige  remains  to  tell  that  they  ever  had  existence,  save 
and  except  in  the  legends  of  romance  and  the  lays  of  the 
minstrel.  The  bedstead  was  destroyed  by  the  fire  svliich  con- 
sumed the  greater  portion  of  that  border  stronghold,  Saturday, 
May  18th,  1844. 

Sic :  transit :  gloria :  etc. 

I  do  know  better  nor  that,  for  o'  aw  come  out  o'  Coverdale. 

This  saying  will  be  best  illustrated  by  the  story  of  the 
Coverdale  farmer,  who  went  to  pay  his  landlord  his  half-year's 

N 


i 


178  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

rent;  and  when  introduced  to  the  'Squire,  who,  by  the  way, 
was  taking  his  otinm  cum  dignitate  in  a  room  the  floor  of  which 
was  only  partially  covered  Avith  a  rich  carpet,  instead  of  taking 
his  course  direct  across  the  room  went  round  the  sides  thereof, 
which  were  uncovered.  His  landlord  perceiving  this,  said  to 
him,  "  John,  John !  don't  walk  there,  but  walk  upon  the 
carpet."  The  answer  was,  '*  Nay,  nay!  canny  maister;  I  do 
know  better  nor  treed  atop  o'  your  bonny  happins,  for  o'  aw 
come  out  o'  Coverdale." 

BoBN  Ayont  the  Gerse-Dyke. 

A  saying  expressive,  I  believe,  of  extreme  ignorance,  and 
evidently  referring  to  the  Roman  earthwork  defence. 


Poor  Johnny  Reay  ; 
Mickle  corn,  but  little  streea. 

I  cannot  properly  locate  this  rhyme  ;  it  was,  however,  told 
me  by  a  native  of  Nent-head,  in  the  parish  of  Alston. 

It  is  spoken  in  derision  of  the  propensity  which  farmers  have 
for  grumbling  about  the  times  and  seasons. 

The  Men  of  Drio,  and  the  Women  of  Beckermont. 

This  saying  is  fully  explained  by  that  recorded  at  the  head 
of  this  section.     See  p.  165. 

To  Bide  Nixon's  Glow. 

A  feud  had  long  existed  between  the  Nixons  of  Bewcastle 
and  the  Johnstons  of  Annandale.  Nixon,  when  blind  with  age, 
was  asleep  after  dinner  in  his  castle.  On  awaking  he  said  that 
the  Johnstons  were  looking  in  at  the  windows,  and  were  to 
fire  the  house.     His  wife  said  that  was  impossible,  for  about 


CUMBERLAND  RHYMES,  PROVERBS,  AND  SAYINGS.  179 

this  time  a  party  wliich  had  been  sent  out  from  the  castle 
would  be  attacking  the  Johnstons  in  their  own  hold,  and 
bringing  off  the  cattle.  The  blind  old  man  was,  however,  right. 
Young  Johnston  was  lookino;  in  at  a  small  window  niche,  and 
heard  the  conversation.  Enraged  at  finding  that  his  home- 
stead was  made  the  subject  of  attack,  ho  ordered  his  followers 
to  close  the  doors  of  the  castle  and  fire  it.  Old  Nixon  attempted 
to  escaped  by  a  window,  but  stuck  in  the  aperture,  which  was 
too  small  for  his  body  to  pass  through,  and  there  miserably 
perished. 

Hence  the  phrase  signifies  "  to  suffer  some  terrible  calamity." 
After  setting  the  castle  on  fire,  Johnston  set  out  to  meet  the 
party  that  had  been  attacking  his  home.  He  conquered  them, 
and  retook  his  cattle.     See  Nicolson's  Cumberland. 

The  White  Harvest. 

There  is  a  tradition  in  Cumberland  that  the  sweetest  of  all 
sweet  songs,  the  Flowers  of  the  Forest^  was  the  composition, 
not  of  a  Scotch,  but  an  English  Borderer.  It  is  almost  capable 
of  historical  proof  that  most  of  the  young  men  of  Cumberland, 
capable  of  bearing  arms,  were  di'auglited  to  go  to  the  battle, 
which  it  describes,*  and  to  this  day  the  harvest  of  that  year 
goes  by  the  name  of  the  "  White  Harvest "  in  that  county. 
It  is  supposed  to  have  been  so  called  from  the  circumstance  of 
the  youth  having  been  taken  to  the  war  just  at  the  approach 
of  harvest,  leaving  the  crop  to  be  shorn  or  reaped  only  by 
persons  with  grey  or  white  hairs.  This  is  pathetically  lamented 
in  the  song — 

"  In  har'st  at  the  shearing,  nae  swankies  are  jeering, 
The  bandsters  are  wrinkled,  and  lyart,  and  grey." 

Boucher's  Gloss.,  p.  56. — [J.  H.] 

*  Namely,  to  that  of  Flodden  Field,  fought  Friday,  9  Sept.  1513. 

n2 


180  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

High  and  Low  Willey  Wastel. 

On  the  village  green,  Cumwliittoii,  are  two  artificial  mounts, 
formerly  used  as  butts  for  exercising  archers,  so  called,  and  in 
all  probability  from  the  archer  of  olden  time,  whose  name  is 
still  celebrated  in  local  song. 

Jack  Musgrave,  Captain  of  Bewcastle. 

A  bold  Borderer,  of  the  time  of  our  eighth  Harry.  He 
planted  five  of  his  sons  at  Plumpton,  with  many  of  his  de- 
pendants. 

Carlisle. 

1.  Nearer  God's  blessing  than  Carlisle  Fair. 

Carlisle  Fair,  or  as  it  is  called  by  the  country  people  Card 
Fair,  is  holden  on  the  26th  of  August,  and  is  so  noted  for  the 
number  and  variety  of  its  amusements  and  choice  commodities, 
that  there  is  hardly  a  villager  within  the  circuit  of  10  miles  who 
does  not  attend  it ;  save  and  except  perhaps  two  or  three  un- 
happy nymphs  and  swains,  whom  the  authority  of  a  morose 
parent  or  a  churlish  master  or  mistress  confine  at  home. 

In  Allan  Ramsay's  collection  of  Scots  Proverbs  we  meet  with 
the  following — 

"  God's  help  is  nearer  than  tlie  fair  e'en." 

In  Lancashire  the  natives  have  a  local  saying — 

"  God's  grace  and  Pilling  Moss  arc  endless." 

2.  The  sun  shines  fair,  etc.,  etc. 

See  illustration  of  this  and  other  Carlisle  proverbs^  pp.  147,- 
et  seq. 

3.  Here  chicks  in  eggs  for  breakfast  sprawl, 
Here  godless  bojs  God's  glories  squall  ; 
While  Scotsmen's  heads  adorn  the  wall, 
But  Corby's  walks  atone  for  all. 


CUMBERLAND  RHYMES,  PROVERBS,  AND  SAYINGS.    181 

The  above  verses  on  Carlisle  and  Corby  were  written  by 
David  Hume  when  he  visited  this  part  of  the  country  about  the 
year  1750.  They  were  originally  written  upon  a  pane  of 
glass  at  the  Old  Bush  Inn  at  Carlisle,  and  were  communicated 
to  Mr.  Howard  by  Sir  Walter  Scott. 

An  old  traveller  who  visited  Carlisle  in  1634  writes — "  The 
organ  and  voices  did  well  agree,  the  one  being  like  a  shrill 
bagpipe,  the  other  like  the  Scottish  tone." 

The  rocky  and  richly  Avooded  banks  of  the  Eden,  both  above 
and  below  Corby,  are  the  deh'ght  of  every  visitor  to  this  part  of 
the  kingdom. 

"  For  Paradise's  seat,  no  more 
Let  travellers  search  on  Persia's  shore  ; 
Its  groves  still  flourishing  appear, 
Upon  the  east  of  Edeu  here." 

Relph. 

4.  Carlisle,  a  sea  port  without  ships,  merchants,  or  trade. 

This  town  is,  however,  happily  situated  for  the  supply  of 
water,  an  element  indispensable  in  the  real  comfort  of  its 
inhabitants.  The  Caldew,  or  Caude,  a  pure  and  rapid  stream, 
runs  on  the  west  side  of  the  city,  dividing  it  from  the  suburbs, 
and  increases  the  water  of  the  Eden.  The  latter  is  a  large  and 
beautiful  river,  passing  close  to  the  town,  over  which  there  is  a 
handsome  stone  bridge,  but  the  river  is  too  rapid  for  navigation. 
The  Peterell  on  the  south  also  flows  into  the  Eden,  which  in  its 
turn  ere  long  empties  itself  into  the  Solway  Firth.  In  1823 
the  Carlisle  Ship  Canal  was  completed,  and  extended  from 
Carlisle  to  the  Solway  at  Fisher's  Cross,  a  distance  of  about  11 
miles.     It  is  navigable  for  vessels  of  from  80  to  100  tons. 

At  Carlisle  immense  quantities  of  small  silver  coins  have  been 
found,  which  arc  called  ''  St.  Cutlibert's  pence."  They  are  sup- 
posed to  have  been  coined  at  Durham. 


1 82  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

Penrith. 

1.  Little  London. 

Penrith  is  so  called,  I  suppose,  on  account  of  tlie  extreme 
love  of  dress  and  gaiety  which  universally  predominates 
throughout  the  whole  of  the  feminine  portion  of  the  inhabitants 
of  this  pretty  little  town. 

Hingham  in  Norfolk  is  also  so  called  from  the  same  cause. 

2.  Peerless  Penrith. 

Drunken  Barnahy,  in  his  Itinerarium,  Lond.  1774,  p.  151, 
notices  the  above  characteristic  in  the  following  couplet  : — 

"  Thence  to  Peerless  Penrith  went  I, 
Which  of  merchandise  hath  plenty." 

Distington,  "Workington,  Harrington,  Dean, 
Hail,  Ponsonby,  Westlington,  and  others  between  ; 
Kinnyside,  Egremont,  Barton,  St.  Bees, 
Clea,  Cockermouth,  Calder  and  mair  besides  these. 

A  rhyming  enumeration  of  the  names  of  14  towns  and 
villages  in  this  county. 

East,  West,  North,  South, 
Kirby,  Kendal,  Cockermouth. 

A  various  form  of  this  local  ihyme  is  used  by  nurses  and 
children  when  playing  at  a  certain  game  on  the  fingers,  in 
which  the  last  word  is  parodied  to  Cock-him-out. 

BORROWDALE    SoAP. 

In  the  above  district  is  found  a  kind  of  soft  white  stone  or 
earth,  which,  from  its  name,  was  probably  used  at  one  period  in 
fulling  cloths.  When  this  earth  has  undergone  a  chemical 
process  similar  to  that  by  which  black  lead  (plumbago)  is 
hardened,  it  makes  very  excellent  slate  pencils. 


CUMBERLAND  RHYMES,  PROVERBS,  AND  SAYINGS.  183 


Cakny  Coomerlan'. 

On  the  authority  of  North  Dalrymple,  Esq.,  who  quotes  it 
as  the  characteristic  used  by  our  Scottish  friends  and  neigh- 
bours.    The  same  characteristic  is  applied  to  Carlisle. 

When  a  Bull  shall  toll  Lanercost  Bell,  and  a  Hare  bring  forth  on 
Naworth's  hearth-stane,  Lanorcost  shall  fall,  Naworth  be  burned 
down,  and  Dalstone  Church  be  washed  away. 

This  old  prophecy  is  still  remembered  by  those  who  have 
listened  to  the  stories  and  believe  in  the  power  of  grammery. 
A  bull,  it  is  said,  did  toll  the  bell  of  Lanercost,  and  a  hare  has 
brought  forth  on  Naworth  hearth-stone ;  so  the  prophecy  has 
now  in  part  been  fulfilled,  for  Lanercost  is  a  ruin,  and  Naworth 
Castle  has  been  destroyed  by  fire.  Dalston  Church,  however, 
still  stands. 

The  Five  Towns  above  Cocker. 

Brigham,  Eaglesfield,  Dean,  Graysouthen,  and  Clifton,  are 
in  ancient  deeds^  called  "  the  five  towns  above  Cockex'." 

"  The  Luck  of  Edenhall." 

1.  If  that  glass  either  break  or  fall, 
Farewell  the  luck  of  Edenhall  ! 

2.  If  this  glass  do  break  or  fall, 
Then  farewell  all  luck  in  Edenhall ! 

3.  Whenever  this  cup  shall  break  or  fall. 
It  is  farewell  the  luck  of  Eden  Hall ! 

The  above  are  the  printed  forms  of  this  old  Cumberland 
rhyme  ;   but  whenever  I  have  heard  it  used  orally,  either  in 


184  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

the  counties  of  Westmoreland  or  Cumberland,  it  always  ran 

tlms : — 

If  ever  this  cup  either  break  or  fall, 
Farewell  the  luck  of  Edenall-Hall  ! 

In  Edenhal],  Cumberland,  tlie  mansion  of  the  knightly  family 
of  Musgrave,  is  preserved,  in  a  leathern  case,  an  old  drinking 
glass,  bearing  the  sacred  monogram  and  enamelled  in  colours, 
which,  according  to  the  tradition  of  the  neighbourhood,  was 
many  long  years  ago  taken  from  some  fairies  near  a  well  dedicated 
to  St.  Cuthbert,  not  far  distant  from  the  house.  This  glass  is 
supposed,  and  with  great  justice,  to  have  been  a  sacred  chalice ; 
but  the  legendary  tale  is,  that  the  butler,  going  to  draw  water, 
surprised  a  company  of  festive  fairies  who  were  amusing  them- 
selves on  the  soft  s-reensward  which  surrounded  the  well.  He 
seized  the  glass,  which  was  standing  upon  its  margin  ;  they 
tried  to  recover  it,  but  after  an  ineffectual  struggle  flew  away, 
repeating  one  of  the  versions  of  the  rhyme  quoted  above. 

From  this  friendly  caution  the  glass  obtained  the  name 
recorded  in  an  excellent  ballad  of  a  famous  drinking  match  at 
this  hospitable  mansion,  which  begins  thus : — 

"  God  prosper  long  from  being  broke, 
The  luck  of  Eden-hall ; 
A  doleful  drmking-bout  I  sing, 
There  lately  did  befall." 

The  good  fortune,  however,  of  this  ancient  house  was  never 
so  much  endangered  as  by  the  Duke  of  Wharton,  who  having 
drank  its  whole  contents  to  the  success  and  prosperity,  no 
doubt,  of  its  worthy  owner  and  his  race,  inadvertently  dropped 
it ;  and  here  most  certainly  would  have  terminated  tlie  Luck  of 
Eden-hall,  if  the  butler,  Avho  had  brought  the  draught,  and  had 
stood  at  his  elbow  to  receive  the  empty  vessel,  had  not  happily 
caught  it  in  his  napkin.     It  is  not  now,  however,  subjected  to 


CUMBERLAND  RHYMES,  PROVERBS,  AND  SAYINGS.  185 

such  risks ;  but  the  lees  of  wiuc  are  still  apparent  at  the  bottom 
of  the  glass. 

Sir  Walter  Scott,  in  his  Minstrelsy  of  the  Scottish  Border, 
vol.  ii.,  p,  130,  makes  the  following  remark  when  noticing  this 
fairy  prophecy  :  "It  is  still  currently  believed  that  he  who  has 
the  courage  to  rush  upon  a  fairy  festival  and  snatch  from 
them  their  drinking-cup  or  horn,  shall  find  it  prove  a  cornucopia 
of  good  fortune  if  he  can  bear  it  safely  away  across  a  running 
stream." 

A  coloured  engraving  of  The  Luck  of  Edenhall  is  given  in 
Lysons'  Cumberland,  p.  209.  A  horn  of  this  class  is  saitl  to 
have  been  presented  to  Hen.  I.  by  a  lord  of  Colchester.  (Gervas 
Tilb.  980.) 

The  ballad  above  quoted  is  commonly  attributed  to  the  Duke 
of  Wharton,  but  in  reality  was  composed  by  Captain  Philip 
Lloyd,  of  Swaledale,  Yorks.,  one  of  the  duke's  jovial  com- 
panions. 

The  Luck  of  Muncaster. 

Durinof  the  civil  wars  between  the  Houses  of  York  and  Lan- 
caster.  Hen.  VI.,  in  his  adversity,  found  a  refuge  in  the  house 
of  Sir  John  Pennington  [at  Furness],  a  gallant  knight  who  had 
distinguished  himself  in  the  King's  service.  At  parting  his 
Majesty,  in  testimony  of  his  good  will  to  the  famil}',  left  them  a 
favourite  driidcing  cup  of  glass,  which,  from  the  general  opinion 
of  that  monarch's  sanctity,  was  called  tlie  Luck  of  Muncaster ; 
this  motto  is  engraved  on  the  cup.  It  was  for  a  long  series  of 
years  preserved  at  Binchcster  Hall,  near  Bishop  Auckland,  with 
great  care,  as  entailing  a  blessing  on  the  family.  Where  the 
cup  is  now,  I  wot  not. 

Hey  for  Cumberland,  ho  ! 

A  Cumberland  cry;  also  the  name  of  a  popular  local  tune 
and  ballad. 


V. 


POPULAR  EHYMES,  PEOVERBS,  SAYINGS,  PROPHE- 
CIES, &c.,  PECULIAR  TO  THE  ISLE  OF  MAN  AND 
THE  MANKS  PEOPLE. 

The  Manks  and  the  Scotch  come  so  near  as  to  throw  their 
Beetles  at  one  another. 

A  traditional  prophetic  saying  used  in  the  north  of  the  island. 
It  is  stated  in  Holinshed's  Chronicles  of  Scotland,  that  Agrieola, 
the  Roman  general,  wanting  vessels  to  carry  his  army  over  from 
Scotland  to  the  Isle  of  Man,  such  as  could  swim  and  knew  the 
shallow  places  of  the  coast  made  shift  to  pass  the  gulph,  and  so 
got  to  land,  to  the  great  wonder  of  the  inhabitants. 

The  land  is  assuredly  gaining  yearly  on  the  sea  in  the  point 
of  Ayre,  and  the  Northerns  look  forward  to  their  saying  being 
ultimately  fulfilled,  notwithstanding  there  is  still  so  much  to 
fill  up. 

Like  a  Manks  Cat,  hasn't  a  tail  to  wag. 

Spoken  of  a  person  who  is  totally  unable  to  clear  himself  of 
an  imputation  with  which  he  is  charged. 

As  equally  as  the  Herring's  back-bone  doth  lie  in  the 

MIDST    OF    the    fish. 

This  expression  forms  one  section  of  the  oath  administered  to 
the  Deemster,  which  oath,  being  rather  unique,  I  quote  in  full : 
*'  By  this  book  and  by  the  holy  contents  thereof,  and  by  the 
wonderful  works  that  God  hath  miraculously  wrought  in  heaven 
above,  and  in  the  earth  beneath,  in  6  days  and  7  nights,  I, 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  THE  ISLE  OF  MAN.     187 

A.  B.,  do  swear  that  I  will,  without  respect  of  favour  or  friend- 
ship, love  or  gain,  consanguinity  or  affinity,  envy  or  malice, 
execute  the  laws  of  this  Isle,  justly  betwixt  our  Sovereign  Lady 
the  Queen  and  her  subjects  within  this  place,  and  betwixt  party 
and  party,  as  indifferently  as  the  Herring's  back-bone  doth  lie 
between  the  two  sides."  The  Deemsters,  of  whom  there  are 
two,  are  the  supreme  judges,  both  in  cases  of  common  law  and 
life  and  death.  The  office  is  of  very  high  antiquity,  and  it  is 
mentioned  in  the  statute  book  so  early  as  the  year  1422  ; 
they  are  styled  in  the  ancient  Court  Rolls,  Justiciarii  Domini 
Regis,  and  derive  their  name  from  the  original  nature  of  their 
office,  which  was  ''  to  deem  the  laws  truly  to  the  parties  "  in 
any  question  of  doubt. 

The  saying  will,  no  doubtj  remind  the  Manksmen  of  his  duty, 
as  well  as  the  judge,  by  their  allusion  to  his  almost  daily  dish. 

The  Arms  of  Man  are  its  Legs. 

A  punning  proverb.  A  valued  correspondent  resident  in  the 
isle  informs  me  that  the  only  jManksman  mentioned  in  history 
was  one  that  ran  away.  If  so,  he  kept  the  arms,  or  rather  the 
legs,  of  his  nation  well  in  his  remembrance.  Probably  he  was 
acquainted  wdth  the  following  old  rhyming  witicism  : 

"  He  that  fights  and  runs  away, 
May  live  and  fight  another  day  : 
But  he  that  is  in  battle  slain, 
Can  never  hope  to  fight  again." 

At  first  Eden  was  given  to  Man, 
A  garden  to  work  and  to  feed  in  ; 

But  now  we've  an  opposite  plan, 
For  Man  is  given  to  Eden. 

The  circumstance  of  the  Hon.  and  Rev.  R.  J.  Eden  (vie.  of 


188  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

Stockton)  having  recently  been  promoted  to  the  Bishopric  of 
Sodor  and  Man  has  given  origin  to  the  above  impromptu  by  a 
contributor  to  the  Edinburgh  Evening  Post,  1847. 


Do  as  they  do  in  the  Isle  of  Man, 
Hows  tliat  ?     They  do  as  they  can. 

In  the  Bishopric  of  Durham  we  have  a  saying,  anent  a  small 
out-of-the-way  uplandish  hamlet  towards  the  head  of  Teesdale, 
which  we  are  rather  guilty  of  using  (although  in  a  jesting  manner) 
when  we  hear  any  of  our  neighbours  complaining  of  their  larder 
or  aumbrey  being  nearly  empty,  to  wit,  "  You  must  do  as  they 
do  at  Kelton,  when  they've  nothing  to  eat."  Very  poor  conso- 
lation this  for  an  empty  stomach,  I  trow. 


Dulce  of  Athol,  King  of  Man, 

Is  the  greatest  Man  in  all  this  Lan'. 

Nisbet  in  his  Heraldry,  Appendix  to  vol.  ii.  p.  201,  says: 
"  I  shall  conclude  with  the  opinions  of  all  the  great  lawyers  in 
England  who  have  had  occasion  to  mention  the  Isle  of  Man, 
viz.,  that  it  is  a  royal  fief  of  the  crown  of  England,  and  the 
only  one:  so  that  I  may  say  without  censure,  that  if  his  Grace 
the  Duke  of  Athol  is  not  the  richest  subject  of  the  King  of 
England,  he  is  the  greatest  man  in  his  Majesty's  dominions." 

Besides  the  title  of  Duke  of  Athol,  the  following  honours  are 
thickly  strewn  upon  the  ancient  family  of  Murray : — Captain 
General,  Governor,  and  Lord  Proprietor  of  the  Isle  of  Man 
Marquis  of  Tullibardine  and  Athol ;  Earl  of  Tullibardine.  Athol 
Strathtay  and  Strathardle  ;  Viscount  Balquhidder,  Glenalmond 
and  Glenlyon;  Baron  Murray  of  Tullibardine,  Balvenie  and  Gask 
Lord  of  the  Isle  of  Man  ;  Constable  of  the  Castle  of  Kincleven, 
and  Hereditary  Keeper  of  Falkland  Palace.     His  English  titles 
are — Earl  Strange,  Baron  Strange,  of  Knockyn,  county  Salop, 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  THE  ISLE  OF  MAN.       189 

Murray  and  Stanley,  county  Gloucester.  The  family  of  Murray 
made  a  complete  surrender  of  aU  tlie!r  kingly  privileges  in  the 
Isle  of  Man,  after  long  negociation,  which  commenced  as  early 
as  1726,  into  the  hands  of  the  English  Government  in  1829, 
receiving  on  the  whole  £416,114  sterling. 

George  Augustus  Frederick  John  Murray,  living  1850,  is  the 
sixth  Duke  of  Athol.  Present  Duke,  Sir  John  James  Hugh 
Henry  Stewart  Murray,  K.T.  &c.  [This  saying  looks  like  an 
attempt  to  versify  Nisbet,  the  herald's  statement.] 


As    ROUND    AS    THE    TyNWALD. 

This  celebrated  eminence,  called  in  the  Manks  language 
Cronk  Keeillown,  which  signifies  the  hill  of  St.  John's  Church 
(now  the  Tynwald  Hill)  stands  on  the  right  of  the  main  road 
from  Douglas  to  Peel,  and  near  the  chapel  of  St.  John.  This 
ancient  mound  is  of  a  circular  form  ;  the  approach  to  the  top  is  by 
a  flight  of  steps  cut  in  the  turf,  directly  facing  the  ancient 
chapel.  There  are  three  circles  of  grass  seats  or  benches  below 
the  summit,  which  are  regularly  advanced  3  feet  above  each 
other.  The  circumference  of  the  lowest  is  about  80  yards ; 
there  is  a  proportionate  diminution  of  the  circumference  and 
width  of  the  two  higher ;  the  diameter  of  the  top  of  the  hill  is 
6  feet.  Prior  to  any  act  of  the  legislation  becoming  the  laws  of 
the  land,  it  must  be  promulgated  in  Manks  and  English  from 
this  hill,  the  Lieutenant-governor  and  the  staff  of  government 
attending.  The  order  of  the  ceremony  runs  thus : — On  the 
summit  of  the  mound  sits  the  Lord,  or  his  lieutenant,  with  his 
face  fronting  the  east,  and  h's  sword  upright  in  his  hand ; 
before  him  sit  the  two  Deemsters;  on  the  highest  circle  his 
barons  and  beneficed  men;  in  the  middle  the  twenty-four  keys, 
"  formerly  styled  the  worthiest  men  in  the  island"  ;  and  on  the 
lowest  the  knights,  squires,  and  yeomen  ;  while  the  commons 
stood  without  the  circle,  with  three  clerks  in  their  surplices.     The 


190  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

hill  was  guarded  by  tlic  coroner  and  moars  armed  with  swords 
and  axes  ;  and  a  proclamation  was  issued  by  the  coroner  of 
Glenfaba  denouncing  those  who  should  murmur  in  the  king's 
presence. 

The  most  singular  circumstance  in  connection  with  this  hill 
is,  that  it  is  formed  of  soil  collected  from  every  parish  in  the 
island.  The  old  chapel  has  been  taken  down  and  a  new  one 
erected  on  the  same  site,  a.d.  1847. 

All  the  bairns  unborn  will  rue  the  day, 
That  the  Isle  of  Man  was  sold  away  : 
And  there's  never  a  wife  that  loves  a  dram 
But  what  will  lament  for  the  Isle  of  Man  ! 

This  quatrain  shows  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  Isle  of  Man 
had  no  little  dread  that  their  favourite  drams  would,  upon  the 
island  being  sold,  come  under  the  ban  of  the  English  excise 
laws.  This,  however,  has  not  yet  been  the  case,  and  the  wives 
of  Man,  both  mekyll  and  lytill,  clde  and  zynge,  indulge  in  their 
leetle  drops  as  profusely  as  they  did  before  that  awful  event  took 
place ! 

1.  God  keep  the  house  and  all  within 
From  Cut  MacCuUoch  and  all  his  kin. 

The  Poor  Manksman's  Prayer. 

2.  God  keep  the  good  corn, 

The  sheep  and  the  bullock, 
From  Satan,  from  sin, 

And  from  Cutlar  MacCulloch. 

The  Rich  Manksman's  Prayer. 

Cutlar  MacCulloch  was  a  powerful  Gallovidian  rover,  who 
made  repeated  excursions  into  the  northern  part  of  the  island 
about  1507,  carrying  off  all  that  he  could  lay  his  hands  on  ; 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  THE  ISLE  OF  MAK.      191 

SO  that  the  inhabitants  used  to  eat  the  sodden  meat  before  tliej 
supped  the  broth,  lest  they  should  be  deprived  of  the  more 
substantial  part.  On  one  of  these  occasions  as  the  master  of 
the  house  had  just  repeated  one  of  these  rhymes.  Cutlar  in 
person  made  his  appearance  with  this  reply : — 

Gademan,  gudeman,  ye  pray  o'er  late, 
MacCJullocli's  ship  is  at  the  yate. 

The  yate  is  a  well  known  landing  place  on  the  north  side  of 
the  island.  These  incursions  caused  watch  and  ward  to  be 
maintained  Avith  the  greatest  strictness  for  a  long  time  after- 
wards. 


The  Mank's  Sea  Harvest, 

The  prayer  of  the  Litany  of  the  Mank's  Church,  beginning : 
''  Preserve  to  us  the  kindly  fruits  of  the  earth,"  is  added  : 
"  and  restore  and  continue  to  us  the  blessings  of  the  sea." 
This  Avas  introduced  into  the  church  by  good  Bishop  Wilson, 
and  was  first  inserted  in  the  Manks  Book  of  Common  Prayer, 
in  1779.  Herrings  formerly  were  the  chief,  and  still  continue 
to  be  a  great  staple  commodity  of  the  island ;  and  before 
leaving  the  harbour  in  the  evening  to  go  out  to  fish,  a  clergy- 
man used  to  perform  divine  service  to  the  assembled  fishermen. 
This  is  now  discontinued ;  yet  upon  leaving  the  harbour,  and  at 
a  sign  from  the  master  of  the  boat,  every  man  upon  his  knees, 
with  uncovered  head,  or  his  face  in  his  hat,  implores  for  a 
minute  the  blessing  and  protection  of  the  Almighty  in  the  way 
he  thinks  best.  The  season  of  this  sea  harvest  commences  about 
July,  and  continues  till  the  end  of  October.  A  boat  has  been 
known  to  bring  in  as  many  as  98,400  herrings,  the  produce  of 
one  night's  catch. 


192  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

When  Satliane  tryed  liis  arts  in  vaine, 

The  worship  of  the  Lordc  to  gaine, 

The  yird,  he  said,  and  all  be  thine, 

Except  ane  space,  that  mann  be  mine. 

Though  bare  it  is,  and  scarce  a  span, 

By  mortals  called  the  Ysle  of  Man; 

That  is  a  place  I  cannot  spare, 

For  all  my  choicest  friends  are  there. 

(From  Irvine's  Historice  Scoticce  Nomen- 
clatura,  1682,  quoted  in  Train's 
Isle  of  Man,  i.  p.  30.) 

The  natives  of  the  island  have  a  tradition  that  Mona  is  the 
original  paradise !  If  so  the  arch  enemy,  from  the  above, 
appears  to  stick  to  it  to  the  last.  Many  places  in  Man  have 
scriptural  names.  IiTount  Sinai  is  the  name  of  a  Iiill  opposite 
Ballachrinck,  St.  John's. 

Mannagh  vow  Cliagiitey,  Cliaghtey,  nee  Cliagiitey  coe. 

That  is,  if  custom  is  not  indulged  with  custom,  custom  will 
weep  ! 

Manksmen  are  very  tenacious  of  any  deviation  from  ancient 
custom,  and  commonly  make  use  of  this  exclamation. 

Hit  Him  again,  for  he's  Irish. 

There  appears  to  have  been  among  the  Manks  people  an  old 
and  deep-rooted  antipathy  to  the  people  of  that  nation,  origi- 
nating most  probably  in  some  sudden  descent  upon  them  by 
the  Irish  in  days  of  old.  In  the  Book  of  Orders^  made  b}''  the 
Earl  of  Derby  in  156] ,  it  is  ordered  "  That  Irish  women, 
loytering  and  not  working,  be  commanded  forth  of  the  said 
Isle  with  as  much  convenient  speed  as  may  be,  and  no  Boate 
hereafter   to   be  suffered  to  bring  any  of  the   said   loytering 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  THE  ISLE  OF  MAN.      193 

persons  into  the  isle,  but  that  upon  paine  and  forfeiture  of  his 
Boate  and  Goods,  after  warning  given  him,  take  the  saide 
persons  to  him  againe."  There  are  many  persons  at  the 
present  day  who  look  upon  them  with  much  the  same  sort  of 
feeling. 

On  the  English  and  Scottish  Borders  we  meet  with  the 
same  parallel  proverb  applied  to  the  natives  of  the  respective 
nations. 

There  will  neither  be  Clag  kor  Kielain. 

That  is,  there  will  neither  be  large  nor  little  bell,  intimating 
thereby  that  there  will  be  no  service  at  church,  or  rather,  as 
the  saying  is  evidently  of  Koman  Catholic  origin,  there  will 
neither  be  prayers  nor  mass. 


Tra  ta  yn  derry  vought  cooney  lesh  bought  elley  [ta  see 

HENE  GARAGHTEe].*  « 

That  is,  when  one  poor  man  assists  another,  God  himself 
laughs. 

Considering  the  limited  means  of  the  Manks  people,  there 
are  none  more  benevolent  to  the  poor.  The  pauper  portion  of 
the  population  is  supported  by  voluntary  contributions,  there 
being  no  poor's-rates  in  the  island,  the  applicant  generally 
receiving  a  plate  of  meat.  It  is  customary  for  these  walkers, 
as  they  are  called,  to  enter  a  house  without  knocking,  and  take 
a  seat  by  the  fire.  Many  old  respectable  inhabitants  consider 
it  inhospitable  to  have  a  knocker  on  their  doors,  and  some  still 
retain  the  good  old  custom  of  keeping  up  a  bed  for  the  walker, 
should  night  overtake  him  on  their  "  street,"  as  the  road 
leading  to  their  house  is  called. 

*  Camden's  Britannia,  by  Gibson,  col.  1445. 
0 


194  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

Ten  L's,  thrice  X  with  V  and  II  did  fall. 
Ye  Manks  take  care,  or  suffer  more  ye  shall. 

According  to  Camden,  this  rhyme  orglnated  on  the  Scottish 
Conquest  of  the  Isle  of  Man.  The  Scots  troops  disembarked 
at  Derby  Haven,  on  the  seventh  of  October,  1270,  and  next 
morning  before  sunrise  a  battle  was  fought,  in  which  the  above 
number  of  the  islanders  fell,  bravely  fighting  for  the  liberty  of 
their  country. 

L  decies,  X  ter,  et  penta  duo  cecidere, 
Mannica  gens  de  te,  darana  futura  cave. 

If   the   Puffin's  nest   was  not  robbed  in  the  Calf  of  Man, 

THEY  would  breed  THERE  NO  LONGER. 

The  Coulterneb  Puffin,  down  to  the  beginning  of  the  century, 
used  to  frequent  the  Calf  of  Man  in  large  numbers,  to  build 
their  nests  in  the  burrows  made  by  the  rabbits.  It  hatches  one 
bird  at  a  time,  but  if  the  egg  be  taken  away  it  will  lay  another, 
and  even  a  third  in  the  same  place.  This  may  have  led  to  the 
saying.  They  have  now,  however,  deserted  the  spot,  said  to 
have  been  caused  by  a  swarm  of  Norway  rats,  cast  on  shore 
from  a  Bussian  vessel  which  was  wrecked  on  the  coast ; 
probably  the  light-houses  now  erected  on  the  spot  are  the  real 
cause. 

In  the  north  of  England  this  bird  is  locally  known  by  the 
name  of  Tommy-Noddy.  It  is  a  visitant  of  the  Fame  Islands 
and  lays  its  egg  in  the  same  singular  situation. 

Manksman-like,  a  day  behind  the  Fair. 

This  is  commonly  used  by  the  English  residents  on  the  island. 
A  native  rarely  attends  punctually  to  his  appointments,  11 
o'clock  is  generally  taken  as  12  by  him ;  and  often  if  he  gets 
there  in  the  course  of  the  day,  he  will  say  :  "  It's  not  so  bad." 
The  Manks  people  are  not  singular  in  this  besetting  sin. 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  THE  ISLE  OF  MAN.      195 


Holding  by  the  Straw. 

A  writer  on  the  laws  of  Mona,  1784,  says:  "They  have 
still  the  power  of  life  and  death  to  banish- or  condemn  to  per- 
petual imprisonment;  to  raise  men  and  money;  to  place  or 
displace  an  officer  in  the  island  at  their  own  pleasure  ;  and  all 
fines  and  forfeitures  in  cases  of  treason,  felony,  and  felo-de-se, 
do  belong  to  them.  The  greatest  difference  between  a  king 
and  lord  of  Man  is,  that  the  kings  were  crowned,  whereas 
the  lords  are  now  only  proclaimed  and  installed.  The  king 
creates  barons,  makes  knights  and  esquires,  but  the  lords  never 
confer  any  titles  of  honour.  The  Kings  of  Man  in  old  times, 
according  to  Manks  tradition,  claimed  the  whole  island  and  all 
the  revenues  thereof,  as  belonging  to  the  crown.  The  inhabi- 
tants had  no  right  to  any  inheritance  in  the  island,  but  were 
only  tenants  at  will,  and  held  their  lands  of  the  king  for 
the  performance  of  certain  duties  and  services.  And  this 
tenure  they  called  the  Jioldlng  by  the  Straio,  which  was  first 
changed  into  leases  for  three  lives  during  the  civil  wars,  thereby 
to  augment  the  lord's  revenues,  the  tenants  being  then  obliged 
to  pay  yearly  a  quit-rent,  and  a  fine  at  renewal.  The  Kings  of 
this  Isle  have  at  different  times  been  tributary  both  to  the  kings 
of  England,  Scotland,  and  Norway,  and  were  obliged  in  token 
of  subjection  to  these. states  to  pay  a  certain  homage  at  the 
coronation  of  any  of  the  princes  of  these  kingdoms.  They  have 
made  many  wars  in  attempts  to  enlarge  their  dominions  beyond 
the  confines  of  this  little  island." 

Our  Enemies  the  Eedshanks,  or  Goblin  Marrey. 

This  at  no  distant  period  was  a  common  nickname  for  a 
Scotch  Highlander,  of  whom  Manksmen  used  formerly  to  bo 
very  suspicious. 

02 


196  THE  DEKHAM  TRACTS. 

With  one  leg  I  spurn  Ireland  ; 
With  the  second  I  kick  Scotland  ; 
And  with  the  third  I  kneel  to  England. 

Spoken  of  the  three  legs  of  Man.  The  arms  of  the  island  are, 
Gules,  three  armed  legs  argent,  conjoined  in  a  fess  at  the  upper 
part  of  the  thighs,  flexed  in  triangle,  garnished  and  spurred 
topaz.  The  motto  is  ''  Quocunque  Jeeeris  Stabit.  "Whatever 
way  you  throw  me  I  will  stand.''  [Whichever  way  you  shall 
have  thrown  it,  it  will  stand.]  This  device  is  said  to  have  been 
adopted  by  Alexander  III.  of  Scotland,  about  1270.  Each 
knee  is  bent,  as  if  performing  a  genuflection,  which  is  supposed 
to  refer  to  the  position  of  the  island,  with  respect  to  England, 
Scotland,  and  Ireland,  when  each  was  a  separate  kingdom.  So 
that  in  whatever  posture  the  insignia  are  placed,  one  leg  only 
can  assume  the  attitude  of  kneeling,  and  no  transposition  of  the 
motto  can  change  their  true  meaning. 

As    STIFF    AS    THE    StAFF    OF    GOVERNMENT. 

The  Lieutenant-governor,  in  his  civil  caj^acit}^,  is  the  Staff  of 
Government,  and  as  such  presides  in  all  the  Legislative  Courts. 
He  receives  a  White  Staff"  on  his  instatement,  and  swears  that 
he  will  deal  truly  and  uprightly  between  the  Queen  and  her 
subjects  in  the  Isle  of  Man,  and  as  indifferently  between  party 
and  party  as  this  staff"  now  standeth,  holding  at  the  same  time 
the  ensign  of  his  authority  in  the  most  erect  position. 

It  is  spoken  proverbially  of  a  person  who  carries  himself  in  a 
stiff  and  erect  manner. 

Time  enough  !  Time  enough  !  quoth  the  Manksman. 

This  Manks  procrastinator  is  sure  to  come  out  when  anything 
is  to  be  done. 

Dr.  Short,  Bishop  of  St.   Asaph,  while  resident  at  Bishop's 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  THE  ISLE  OF  MAN.       197 

Court,  lifid  in  his  garden  several  large  beds  of  thyme,  and  in 
passing  them  with  his  friends  he  used  to  say,  in  allusion  to  tlie 
Mankish  sin,  "  You  see  I  have  time  enough." 

Clough  na  Kielagh  ayns  corneil'd  thy  me. 

Tliat  is,  may  a  stone  of  the  church  be  found  in  thy  dwelling.* 
This  would  be  considered  as  one  of  the  greatest  misfortunes 
that  could  befall  a  family.  The  Manks,  like  many  other 
people,  have  a  particular  veneration  for  anything  that  has  been 
dedicated  to  the  service  of  the  church,  and  have  a  superstitious 
feeling  in  removing  or  applying  them  to  their  own  use. 

[When  the  Manx  wished  to  pronounce  a  special  curse  upon 
a  man,  they  used  the  imprecation,  '•  Clagh  ny  Killagh  ayns 
Kione  dy  hie  Vovar  ;"  literally,  "  May  a  stone  of  the  church  be 
in  the  head  of  thy  house  a  great  one/'  i.e.,  "  May  thy  punishment 
be  that  of  the  man  who  commits  sacrilege." — Cummings,  The 
Great  .Stanley,  p.  248.  Camden  gives  it  thus  :  "  They  have 
generally  hated  sacrilege  to  such  a  degree,  that  they  do  not 
think  a  man  can  wish  a  greater  curse  to  a  family  than  in  these 
words  :  "  Clogh  ny  Killagh  ayns  Corneil  dty  Hie  Moar,"  i.e., 
"  May  a  stone  of  the  church  be  found  in  the  corner  of  thy 
dwelling-house." — Gihsoii's  ed.  col.  1446. — J.  H.] 

Then  there  are  yet  Men  in  the  Isle  of  Man. 

Castle  Rushen  has  long  been  famous  for  its  subterranean 
passages,  and  there  are  individuals  amongst  the  islanders  who 
still  firmly  believe  that  they  lead  to  a  beautiful  country 
underground,  inhabited  by  giants.  Amongst  the  many  tales 
they  relate  is  one,  that,  several  attempts  being  made  to  explore 
the  passages,  which  in  general  proved  unsuccessful,  a  num.- 
bcr  of  daring  fellows  agreed  to  attempt  the  enterprise  in  com- 

*  A  Manks  form  of  cursing. — Ecclesiohgical  Notes  on  the  Isle  of 
Man,  p.  46. 


198  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

pany.  Having  armed  themselves  with  staves,  etc.,  etc ,  and 
procuring  torches,  tliey  descended.  After  proceeding  a  little 
way,  they  found  an  old  man,  of  great  size,  with  a  long  beard, 
and  blind,  sitting  on  a  rock  as  if  fixed  there.  He,  hearing  them 
approach,  enquired  of  them  as  to  the  state  of  the  island,  and  at 
last  asked  one  to  put  forth  his  hand,  on  which  one  of  them  gave 
him  a  ploughshare  which  he  had,  wheli  the  old  giant  squeezed 
the  iron  together  with  the  greatest  ease,  exclaiming  at  the  same 
time :  "  Then  there  are  yet  men  in  the  Isle  of  Man." 

The  same  tradition  under  varied  forms  prevails  in  Scotland, 
Denmark,  France,  etc.  See  the  story  of  Frederick  Barbarossa 
sleeping  on  his  throne  in  the  Castle  of  KyfFhausen,  in  Quarterly 
Review,  March,  1820. 

Epigram  on  the  Arms  op  Man. 

'  Reader,  thou'st  seen  a  falling  cat 
Lights  always  on  his  feet  so  pat ; 
A  shuttlecock  will  still  descend, 
Meeting  the  ground  with  nether  end  ; 
The  persevering  Manksman's  thus 
A  shuttlecock  or  pauvre  puss. 
However  through  the  world  he's  tost, — 
However  disappointed,  crost, — 
Eeverses,  losses,  Fortune's  frown, 
No  chance  or  change  can  keep  him  down. 
Upset  him  anyway  you  will, 
Upon  his  legs  you  find  him  still : 
For  ever  active,  brisk,  and  spunky, 
Stabit  jeceris  quocunque. 

He  is  like  a  Manks  Cat,  he  leaves  nought  ahint  him 

BUT    his    tail. 

See  note  on  saying,  ''  Like  a  Manks  Cat,  liasn^t  a  tail  to 
wag." 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  THE  ISLE  OF  MAN.      199 

The  only  animal  peculiar  to  the  island  is  the  tailless  cat, 
called  in  Manks  "stubbin,"  in  English  "  rumpy."  Professor 
Forbes  states  it  to  be  "  an  accidental  variety  of  the  common 
species,  Felis  catus,  frequently  showing  no  traces  of  the  caudal 
vertebra,  and  in  others  a  mere  rudimental  substitute."  The 
witty  author  of  A  Siv  Days^  Tour  in  the  Isle  of  Man,  p.  152, 
says :  "  But  as  they  intermarry  with  the  more  favoured 
English  breeds,  they  have  a  quarter  tail,  half  tail,  tln:ee- 
quarters  of  a  tail,  and  full  tail,  according  to  some  scale  of 
deserts  with  which  I  am  unacquainted."  Some  affirm  that  this 
is  the  genuine  aboriginal  cat  of  the  island ;  and  there  is  a  tradi- 
tion that  the  first  stubbin  or  rumpy  cat  seen  in  the  island  was 
cast  ashore  from  a  foreign  vessel  wrecked  on  the  rocks  at 
Spanish  Head,  shortly  after  the  creation  of  the  world ! 

These  cats  are  considered  good  mousers,  and  many  are 
annually  carried  out  of  the  island  as  curiosities  by  visitors  who 
frequent  it 

[Dr.  Geo.  Wilson  calls  it  "  the  absurd  cat  without  a  tail," 
a  great  favourite  of  his.     Mem.,  p.  20.] 

Blue,  the  Makksman's  Livery. 

This  saying  has,  I  suppose,  originated  in  the  fact  that  the 
prevailing  colour  of  the  dress  of  the  Manks  people  is  blue. 

A  Manksman's  Arms  are  three  Legs. 

Spoken  by  way  of  pun  on  the  armorial  bearings  of  the  Isle  of 
Man. 

Galloping  the  White  Mare. 

Said  of  servants  who  run  away  from  their  places  before  the 
expiration  of  their  servitude.  Female  servants  hire  at  Latter- 
mas,  28th  March,  and  males  at  Michaelmas,  29th  September, 
for  twelve  months.     The  old  privilege  of  yarding,  given  by 


200  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

ancient  cnstojiary  law  to  the  Lords,  Deemsters,  and  Chief 
Officers  in  the  island,  according  to  their  degree,  of  compelling 
certain  persons  of  either  snx  into  their  service,  at  a  trifling  fee 
fixed  by  law,  has  now  and  very  properly  fallen  into  disuse. 

On  Bishop  Hildesley. 

Jf  to  paint  folly,  till  her  friends  despise, 
And  virtue,  till  her  foes  would  fain  be  wise  ; 
If  angel  sweetness — if  a  God-like  mind, 
That  melts  with  Jesus  over  all  mankind : 
If  this  can  form  a  bishop — and  it  can, 
Tho'  lawn  were  wanting,  Hildesley  's  the  man. 

When  Bishop  Hildesley  was  at  Scarborough,  in  1764,  the 
above  verses  were  stuck  up  in  the  Spa-room,  and  were  taken 
down  by  him,*  and  after  his  deatli  found  among  his  papers,  with 
these  words  written  underneath  by  the  Bishop  :  "  From  vain 
glory  in  human  applause,  Deus  me  liberat  et  conservat." 
Bishop  Hildesley  was  instrumental  in  the  translation  of  the 
Scriptures  into  the  Manks  language  and  originated  Sunday 
schools  in  the  island.     He  died  7th  December,  1772. 


Be  shibber  oie  innid  vees  olty  volg  lane, 
My  jig  laa  caisht  yon  traaste  son  shen. 

Translation — 

On  Shrove  Tuesday  night,  though  thy  supper  be  fat, 
Before  Easter-day  thou  may'st  fast  for  that. 

On  Shrove  Tuesday  it  is  customary  to  have  solla-ghyn  or 
crowdy  for  dinner  instead  of  breakfast,  as  at  other  times  ;  and 
for  supper,  fleshmeat  with  a  large  pudding  and  pancakes.     Into 

•  "  By  his  sister," — Quigley's  Guide  to  the  Isle  of  Man,  p.  2o, 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  THE  ISLE  OF  MAN.      201 

the  latter  are  thrown  a  ring  and  a  piece  of  silver  money,  with 
which  the  candidates  for  matrimony  try  their  fortune.  It  is 
quite  a  Manks  merrymaking  ;  hence  the  proverb. 


There  has  not  been  a  merry  World  since  the 
Phynnodderee  lost  his  ground. 

This  useful  little  old  gentleman  with  his  hairy  coat  was  a 
fallen  fairy  wlio  was  banished  from  his  brethren  in  Fairy-land 
for  having  paid  his  addresses  to  a  pretty  Manks  maid,  and 
deserting  the  fairy  court  during  the  harvest  moon  to  dance 
with  his  earthly  love  in  the  merry  Glen  of  Rushen.  He  is 
doomed  to  remain  in  the  isle  till  the  end  of  time ;  and  many  are 
the  stories  related  by  the  Manks  peasantry  of  his  prodigious 
strength.  Having  performed  one  of  his  prodigious  feats,  a 
gentleman  wishing  to  recompense  him  caused  a  few  articles  of 
clothing  to  be  laid  down  for  him  in  his  nsual  haunts ;  when  on 
perceiving  them,  he  lifted  them  up  one  by  one,  saying :  — 

Cap  for  the  Head  ;  alas  !  poor  Head  : 
Coat  for  the  Back ;  alas  !  poor  Back : 
Breeches  for  the  Breech  ;  alas  !  poor  Breech  : 
If  those  be  all  thine,  thine  cannot  be 
The  merry  Glen  of  Rushen. 

Having  said  so  he  departed^  and  has  never  been  heard  of 
since. 

His  resemblance  was  that  of  the  Lubber  Fiend  of  Milton. 

The  Rhyme  of  the  Scottish  Brownie,  when  he  was  rewarded 
with  a  coat  and  sark,  ran  thus  : — 

Gie  Brownie  coat,  gie  Brownie  sark, 
Ye's  get  nae  mair  o'  Brownie's  wark. 


202      .  THE  DENHAM  TBACTS. 

Tluit  of  the  Brownie  of  Ettrick  Forest  was — 
Farewell  to  bonny  Bodsbeck. 

So  also  that  of  the  Cauld  Lad  of  Hilton  Castle,  in  the 
Bishopric  of  Durham,  ran  in  a  similar  rhvming  strain,  when 
he  was  similarly  rewarded  with  a  brand  new  cloak  and  hood — 

Here's  a  Cloak  and  there's  a  Hood, 

The  Cauld  Lad  o'  Hilton  will  do  na  niair  good. 

The  luck  of  the  house  is  said  to  depart  for  ever  with  the 
oiFended  Brownie ! 

[Manks  Fairies. 

They  are  much  the  same  as  their  neighbours  on  the  mainland. 
They  go  into  mills  at  night  and  grind  stolen  corn  ;  they  steal 
milk  from  the  cattle ;  they  live  in  green  mounds ;  in  short,  they 
are  like  little  mortals  invested  with  supernatural  power,  thus  : 
There  was  a  man  lived  not  long  ago  near  Port  Quin  who  had  a 
Lhiannan  Shee.  "  He  was  not  like  other  people,  but  he  had  a 
fairy  sweetheart ;  but  he  noticed  her,  and  they  do  not  like  being 
noticed,  the  fairies,  and  so  he  lost  his  mind.  Well,  he  was  quite 
quiet  like  other  people,  but  at  night  he  slept  in  the  barn,  and 
they  used  to  hear  him  talking  to  his  sweetheart,  scolding  her 
sometimes,  but  if  any  one  made  a  noise  he  would  be  quiet  at 
once."  The  man  went  mad ;  but  his  madness  took  the  form  of 
the  popular  belief,  and  that  again  attributed  his  madness  to  the 
fairy  mistress.     Campbell's  West  Highland  Tales,  ii.,  p.  70.] 

Fairies  and  Churches. 

There  is  a  mythical  tale  of  church  building  in  the  Isle  of  Man 
told  in  connection  with  that  of  St.  Trinion's  {i.e.  St.  Ninian),  and 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  THE  ISLE  OF  MAN.       203 

is  mentioned  by  Grose  in  his  Antiquities.  He  also  gives  a  draw- 
ing of  the  church,  which  shows  it  much  in  the  same  state  in  which 
it  appears  at  this  moment  of  time  (1851),  for  no  one  will  touch  a 
stone  of  it.  Tradition  relates  that  the  present  ruinous  state  of 
the  building  was  owing  to  the  malice  of  some  unlucky  demons, 
who,  for  want  of  better  employment,  amused  themselves  with 
throwing  off  the  roof,  which  frolic  they  so  often  repeated  that 
the  prosecution  of  the  building  was  abandoned. 


Manks  Bye-names. 

The  following  general  bye-names  occur  in  the  Isle  of  Man : — 
The  Dalby  folks  are  called  Gobbocks,  from  their  partiality  to 
that  fish.  The  Castleton  youths  are  generally  styled  Dullish, 
which  in  Manks  patois  is  equivalent  to  a  boaster.  And  each 
and  all  in  their  turn  retort  upon  the  Peel  gents  by  calling  them 
Vinegar  Hill  Boys,  also  Skaddon  or  Haddock  Boys. 


[Wren-hunting  in  the  Isle  of  Man. 

"  Manx  herring-fishers  dare  not  go  to  sea  without  a  wren, 
taken  dead  with  them,  for  fear  of  disasters  and  storms.  Their 
traditioii  is  of  a  '  sea-spirit '  that  haunted  the  '  herring-tack,' 
attended  always  by  storms,  and  at  last  it  assumed  the  figure  of 
a  wren  and  flew  away.  So  they  think  when  they  have  a  dead 
wren  with  them  all  is  snug.  The  poor  bird  has  a  sad  life  of  it 
in  that  singular  island  ;  when  one  is  seen  at  any  time,  scores  of 
Manxmen  start  and  hunt  it  down." — Mactaggart's  Gallovidian 
Encyclopcedia,  p.  157.  Of  wren-hunting  in  Ireland,  and  in 
France  near  Marseilles,  there  is  an  account  in  Brand's  Pop. 
Ant.y  iii.,  pp.  103-4.] 

[Li  Cregeen's  Manks  Dictionary,  published  by  Mary  Quiggin, 


204  THE  DENHAM  TKACTS. 

1835,  is  this  Manks  proverb:  ''■' Ny  three  geayghyn  o'  feaysey 
dennee  Fion  M'Cooil 

Geay  hennen,  as  geay  huill, 
As  geay  fo  my  shiauilL" 

Which  I  understand  to  mean — 

The  three  coldest  winds  that  came  to  Fion  M'Cooil, 
Wind  from  a  (haw,  wind  from  a  hole. 
And  wind  from  under  tlie  sails. 
Campbell's  Pop.  Tales  of  West  Highlands,  Introd.  xli.J 


VI. 


A  COLLECTION  OF  WESTMOEELAND  RHYMES,  PRO- 
VERBS, AND  SAYINGS,  CHIEFLY  RELATING  TO 
THE  OLDEN  TIME. 

The  Westmoreland  Hercules. 

Eicliard  Gilpin  Avas  infeofFed,  in  the  reign  of  King  John,  in 
the  lordship  of  Kentmire  Hall,  by  the  Baron  of  Kendal,  for 
his  singular  service  and  deserts,  both  in  peace  and  war.  It  is 
told  of  this  Westmoreland  worthy  that  he  slew  a  Avild  boar, 
that,  raging  in  the  mountains  adjoining,  much  endamaged  the 
country  people,  whence  it  is  that  the  Gilpins  in  their  coat-arms 
give  the  boar. 

"  I  confess  this  story  soundeth  something  Romanza-like. 
However,  I  believe  it,  partly  because  so  reverend  a  pen  (Bishop 
Carleton)  hath  recorded  it,  and  because  the  people  in  these 
parts  need  not  to  feign  foes  in  their  fancy  Bears,  Boars,  and 
Wild  Beasts,  who  in  that  age  had  real  enemies,  the  neighbouring 
Scots,  to  encounter.^' — Fuller. 

Pray  for  the  soul  of  Thomas  Parr,  Knight, 
,    Who  was  Squire  of  the  Body  to  King  Henery  the  Eight. 

The  above,  or  similar  verses,  were  formerly  in  a  beautiful 
window  of  painted  glass  in  Parr's  Aisle,  in  Kendal  church,  and 
were  demolished  by  the  Cromwellian  soldiers. 


206  THE  DEXHAM  TKACTS. 

Trotttbeck  has  Three  Hundred  Bulls,  Three  Hundred 
Constables,  and  Three  Hundred  Bridges. 

A  pretty  fair  number  of  each  truly,  for  a  small  district,  in 
so  very  small  a  county !  The  township  and  chapelry  of 
Troutbeck,  in  the  parish  of  Windermere,  is  divided  into  three 
divisions  called  Imndreds,*  each  of  which  has  six  hundred 
cattle-gaits,  of  two  acres  each,  on  the  extensive  common,  and 
each  hundred  has  a  common  bull,  constable,  and  bridge. 
From  these  three  incidents  arose  the  above  witty  and  singular 
saying. 

Hugh  Bird,  the  Troutbeck  giant,  was,  according  to  the  tales 
of  tradition,  a  man  of  wonderful  strength  and  appetite.  At  the 
building  of  Kentmere  Hall  he  lifted  a  beam  which  ten  men  in 
vain  tried  to  move,  On  occasion  of  Lord  Dacre  sending  him 
with  a  message  to  the  king,  he  astonished  the  royal  household 
by  eating  up  a  whole  sheep  to  his  dinner,  having  previously 
ordered  it  to  be  cooked  for  him,  under  the  name  of  "  the 
sunny  side  of  a  wedder." 


Varia : 


Let  Titer  Pendragon  do  what  he  can. 
The  River  Eden  will  run  as  he  ran. 


Let  Pendragon  do  what  he  can, 
Eden  will  run  where  Eden  ran. 


The  river  Eden  runs  at  no  great  distance  on  the  east  side  of 
Pendragon  Castle,  near  Kirkby  Stephen.  On  the  other  side  of 
this  castle  are  great  trenches,  which  look  as  if  Uter  Pendragon,f 

*  Ten  families  make  a  tything  ;  ten  tythings  make  a  hundred. 

f  Pen — this  word  simply  means  anything  great  or  exalted. 
Dragon — a  governor  or  dictator  of  the  ancient  British  period,  com- 
mon in  the  north  of  England  and  south  of  Scotland. 


WESTMOEELAND  RHYMES,  PEOVEEBS,  AND  SAYINGS.        207 

the  founder,  had  intended  to  draw  the  waters  into  them,  and 
80  encompass  it  with  a  moat.  But  the  attempt  proved  in- 
effectual, and  gave  occasion  to  the  above  extremely  ancient 
rhyme  still  popular  with  the  inhabitants  of  this  county.  A 
gentleman  of  the  name  of  Longstaffe  (a  native  of  the  county), 
who  made  a  tour  in  the  year  1766,  and  left  a  MS.  account 
thereof  gives  us  the  following  variorum  reading : — 

Let  sly  Pendragon  do  all  he  can, 
Old  Eden  will  run  where  first  he  ran. 

As  OLD  AS  Knock  Cross. 

A  Westmoreland  comparison,  bespeaking  extreme  antiquity. 
Parallel  with  the  above  is  that  of  Canny  Newcastle,  to  wit — 
is"asawde  [old]  as  Pandon  Yatts  [gates]."  Knock,  anciently 
Knock-Shalock,  is  a  pretty  good  village,  in  the  parish  of  Long- 
marton,  [There  is  another  Knock's  Cross  to  which  the  saying  is 
also  applied  on  the  Roman  wall  near  Bowness  in  Cumberland. 
Knock's  Cross  is  a  barrow-like  object  close  by  the  sea  shore. — 
Bruce's  Wallet-Book  of  the  Roman  Wall,  p.  2 15.  J 

Here  the  King  Westmer, 
Slew  the  King  Kothinger. 

In  Tlie  Complaint  of  Scotland,  an  ancient  romance  is  men- 
tioned, under  the  title  of  "  How  the  King  of  Estmureland 
married  the  king's  daughter  of  Westmureland  '^  ["  quhou  the 
kyng  of  est  mure  land  mareit  the  kyngis  dochtir  of  vest  mure 
land"].  Again  in  the  Scots  Ballad  of  Fause  Foodrage  men- 
tion is  made  in  the  first  verse  of  King  Easter  and  King  Wester, 
who  were  probably  petty  kings  or  governors  of  Northumber- 
land and  Westmoreland.  But  it  is  again  supposed  the  Est- 
mureland and  Westmureland  can  have  no  relation  to  North- 


208  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

umberland  and  Westmoreland,  as  the  former  was  never  called 
Eastmoreland,  nor  was  there  ever  a  king  of  Westmore- 
land, unless  we  credit  the  authority  of  the  above  rhymes,  cited 
by  Usher,  in  his  Antiquities  of  the  British  Churches,  p.  303, 
wherein  that  learned  prelate  says  that  jNIarius,  a  petty  king  of 
the  Britons  (in  the  1st  and  2nd  century),  defeated  Roderick, 
the  Eothinger  of  the  rhyme,  a  Pictish  general  from  Scythia, 
upon  the  mountains  now  called  Stanemoor  ;  in  memory  whereof 
Eei,  Eere,  or  Roy  Cross  was  erected  ;  and  from  him  that  part 
of  the  kingdom  was  called  West-maria,  or  Marius  land. 

In  Kyng  Horn  are  Eastnesse  and  Westnesse,  which  Sir 
Walter  Scott  says  still  exist  in  Yorkshire.  In  the  French 
original  Westia  is  said  to  be  the  old  name  of  Hirland  or  Ireland ; 
and,  if  so,  Eastmureland  must  be  England. 

Kendal  Green. 

This  colour,  which  has  grown  into  a  proverb,  was  a  favorito 
and  a  fashionable  one  in  the  16th  century.  It  was  a  kind  of 
foresters'  green.  Shakespeare,  in  his  play  of  Henry  TV. 
makes  Falstaff  say :  "  But  as  the  devil  would  have  it  three 
misbegotton  knaves  in  Kendal  green  came  up  at  my  back  and 
let  drive  at  me."  [Kendal  green  is  the  livery  colour  of  ihe 
Earl  of  Home,  and  also  the  favourite  colour  of  Robin  Hood  and 
his  followers.] 

Eighty-eight  wor  Kirby  feight ; 

When  niver  a  man  was  slain  ; 
They  yett  their  meat,  an'  drank  their  drink, 

An'  sae  com.e  merrily  lioani  again. 

After  the  abdication  of  James  II.  in  the  year  1688,  a  rumour 
was  spread  in  the  North  of  England,  that  the  abdicated 
monarch  was  lying  off  the    Yorkshire  coast,  ready  to  make 


WESTMORELAND  RHYMES,  PROVERBS,  AND  SAYINGS.        209 

a  descent,  with  a  numerous  army  from  France,  in  hopes  of 
regaining  his  lost  throne.  This  report  gave  the  Lord  Lieutenant 
of  Westmoreland  an  opportunity  of  showing  his  own  and  the 
people's  attachment  to  the  new  order  of  things.  He  accordingly 
called  out  the  posse  comitatus,  comprising  all  the  able-bodied 
men  from  16  to  60  years  of  age.  The  order  was  obeyed  with 
alacrity,  and  the  inhabitants  met  armed  in  a  field  called  Miller's 
Close  near  Kendal,  from  whence  they  marched  to  Kirkby 
Lonsdale,  and  so  "  Com  merrily  hoam  again."  This  historical 
fact  explains  the  meaning  of  the  abore  popular  rhyme,  which 
at  this  day  is  not  generally  understood. 

Let  men  and  sliools*  do  what  they  may, 
The  Lowdore  will  wash  Brougham  away. 

The  river  Lowdore,  when  swollen  by  winter  floods,  sweeps 
with  such  impetuosity  against  the  lowlands  in  the  Brougham 
estate,  that  the  county  people  foretell  its  ultimate  destruction  in 
the  above  old  rhyming  couplet. 

The  Lowdore,  or  Loder,  falls  into  the  Eimont,  near  Penrith, 
on  the  borders  of  Cumberland.  Leland  says,  "At  Burgham, 
is  an  old  castle  that  the  common  people  say  doth  sink." 

Auld  John  Lowther,  of  Lowtber  ; 

If  ye  had  twea  kine, 
He  wad  let  ye  keep  nowther : 

T'  devil  of  owther ! 

Perhaps  this  rhyming  saying  may  refer  to  Sir  John  Lowther, 
who  in  the  year  1666  obtained  a  grant  of  all  the  ungranted 
lands,  within  the  district  of  Whitehaven,  in  order  to  prevent  all 
opposition  to  his  intended  series  of  operations  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  that  town  for  the  working  of  his  coal  mines,  and  the 
transit   of  shipping   of  the   produce.     Li   the   year    1668,  he 

*  Shools,  i.e.  shovels. 
P 


210  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

obtained  a  further  accession  of  property  by  the  gift  of  the  whole 
sea-coast  for  two  miles  northward,  between  higli  and  low  water- 
mark. 

It  is  easy  to  imagine  that  these  extensive  gifts  and  grants 
would  cause  great  dissatisfaction,  and  be  the  means  no  doubt  of 
ousting  numbers  of  poor  families  who,  together  with  their 
ancestors,  had  doubtless  occupied  the  lands  (of  which  they 
were  thus  dispossessed)  for  centuries — without  perhaps  the 
payment  of  the  most  trifling  sum  in  the  form  of  rent. 

KoBiN  THE  Devil. 

During  the  civil  wars,  two  of  the  family  of  Phillipson,  a 
family  of  some  note  in  this  county,  an  elder  and  a  younger 
brother  served  the  king.  The  former,  who  was  proprietor  of  an 
island  in  Windermere  Lake,  commanded  a  regiment ;  the  latter 
was  a  major.  The  major,  whose  name  was  Robert,  was  a 
man  of  great  spirit  and  enterprise,  and  for  his  many  feats  of 
bravery  had  obtained  among  the  Oliverians  of  those  parts  the 
appellation  of  Robert  the  Devil.  After  the  war  had  subsided 
and  the  direful  effects  of  public  opposition  had  ceased,  revenge 
and  private  malice  long  kept  alive  the  animosities  of  indi- 
viduals. Colonel  Briggs,  a  steady  friend  to  usurpation,  resided 
at  this  time  at  Kendal ;  and  under  the  double  character 
of  a  leading  magistrate  and  an  active  commander,  held  the 
country  in  awe.  This  person,  having  heard  that  Major 
Phillipson  was  at  his  brother's  house  on  the  island,  resolved  if 
possible  to  seize  and  punish  a  man  who  had  made  himself 
so  particularly  obnoxious  to  his  party.  With  this  view  he 
mustered  a  party  which  he  thought  sufficient,  and  went  him- 
self on  the  enterprize.  How  it  was  conducted  my  authority 
does  not  inform  me;  whether  he  got  together  the  navigation 
of  the  lake,  and  blockaded  the  place  by  sea,  or  whether  ho 
landed  and  carried  on  his  approaches  in  form.     Neither  do  we 


I 


WESTMORELAND  RHYMES,  PROVERBS,  AND  SAYINGS.        211 

learn  the  strength  of  the  garrison  within,  nor  the  works  with- 
out ;  though  every  gentleman's  house  was,  at  that  time,  in  some 
degree  a  fortress.  All  that  we  learn  is  that  Major  Phillipson 
endured  a  siege  of  eight  days  with  great  gallantry ;  till  his 
brother,  the  colonel,  hearing  of  his  distress,  raised  a  party  and 
relieved  him. 

It  was  now  the  major's  turn   to   make   reprisals.      He  put 

himself,  therefore,  at  the  head  of  a  little  troop  of  horse  and 

rode  to  Kendal.     Here,  being  informed  that  Colonel  Briggs 

was  at  prayers  (for  it  was  on  a  Sunday  morning),  he  stationed 

his  men  properly  in  the  avenues,   and,  himself  armed,  rode 

directly  into  the  church.     It  probably  was  not  a  regular  church, 

but  some  large  place  of  meeting.     It  is  said  he  intended  to 

seize  the  colonel  and  carry  him  off ;  but  as  this  seems  totally 

impracticable,  it  is  rather  probable  that  he  intended  to  kill  him 

on  the  spot,   and  in   the   midst   of  the   confusion   to  escape. 

Whatever  his  intentions  were  they  were  frustrated,  for  Briggs 

happened  to  be  elsewhere.      The  congregation,   as  might   be 

expected,  was  thrown  into  great  confusion  on  seeing  an  armed 

man  on  horseback  make  his  appearance  among  them,  and  the 

major,  taking  advantage  of  their  astonishment,  turned  his  horse 

round  and  rode  quietly  out.     But,  an  alarm  being  given,  he 

was  presently  assaulted  as   he  left  the   assembly,  and  being 

seized,  had  his  girths  cut  and   he   was    unhorsed.      At   this 

instant  his  party  made  a  furious  attack  on  his  assailants,  and 

the  major  killed  with  his  own  hand  the  man  who  had  seized 

him,  clapped  the  saddle,  ungirthed  as  it  was,  upon  his  horse, 

and  vaulting  into  it  rode  off  at  full  speed  tlurough  the  streets  of 

Kendal,  calling  on  his  men  to  follow  him ;  and  he  with  his 

whole  party  made  a  safe  retreat  to  his  asylum  on  the  lake. 

The  action  marked  the  man.     Many  knew  him,  and  they  who 

did  not,  knew  well  from  the  exploit,  that  it  could  be  no  one  but 

Robin  the  Devil. 

p2 


212  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

Here  I,  Thomas  Wharton,  do  lie, 

With  Lucifer  Tinder  my  head, 
And  Nelly,  my  wife,  hard  by, 

And  Nancy  as  cold  as  lead. 
Oh  !  how  can  I  speak  without  dread  ! 

Who  could  my  sad  fortune  abide, 
With  one  devil  under  my  head 

And  another  laid  close  by  my  side. 

The  above  safciricul  epitapli  was  written  on  Thomas,  Lord 
Wharton,  who,  with  his  two  wives,  lies  buried  in  the  Wharton 
aisle,  or  chapel,  in  the  chancel  of  Kirkby  Stephen  church. 
The  genuine  epitaph  runs  thus:  — 

^'  1,  Thomas  Wharton,  lie  here ;  also  my  wives,  Eleanor  on 
the  one  side,  and  Ann  on  the  other.  0  !  earth  take  back  thy 
own,  our  flesh  and  bones.  0  !  bountiful  God,  retake  these  our 
souls  to  heaven.  The  Wharton  family  gave  me  birth,  and  my 
right  hand  victories  against  the  Scots.  Honour  to  my  wife 
Eleanor,  whom  the  family  of  Stapleton  gave  me,  and  made  me 
father  of  six  children.  Death  snatched  two  from  me  in  their 
infancy,  two  in  youthful  years,  the  remaining  two  bear  the 
names  of  my  ancestors.  My  second  wife,  Ann,  is  of  the 
illustrious  family  of  Shrewsbury." 

The  witty  rhymester's  idea  of  Lucifer  under  the  head  of  his 
lordship  is  supposed  to  have  arisen  from  the  horrid  image  of  a 
bull's  head  which  is  displayed  upon  the  said  tomb,  and  which 
forms  a  portion  of  the  arms  of  the  once  noble  family  of 
Wharton. 

I  pray  God  to  shorten 

The  days  of  Lord  Wharton, 
And  put  his  son  up  in  his  place. 

He'll  drink  and  he'll  whore, 

And  ten  thousand  things  more. 
With  as  good  a  fanatical  face. 

When   the   second   Lord    Wharton   was   a   youth,   he   was 


WESTMOEELAND  RHYMES,  PROVERBS,  AND  SAYINGS,        213 

remarkable  for  his  dissolute  life  ;  his  father,  on  the  contrary, 
was  a  rigid  Presbyterian.  At  an  entertainment  given  by  the 
old  lord  to  a  number  of  friends  the  young  one  was  desired  to 
say  grace,  when,  turning  up  the  whites  of  his  eyes,  he  in  a 
sanctified  tone  repeated  the  above  verses.  The  old  nobleman, 
who,  being  very  deaf,  heard  not  one  word  of  this  filial  prayer, 
very  devoutly  closed  it  with,  "  Amen,  I  pray  God  ! " 

Kii'by  Bells  and  Brough  Rtots, 
Musgrave  Pans,  and  Warcop  Pots. 

A  rhyming  comparison  on  the  relative  merits  of  these  four 
neighbouring  sets  of  church  bells.  Brough  is  the  only  one  that 
requires  any  elucidation.  Of  these  bells  there  is  a  tradition  that, 
"  long  and  many  years  ago,"  a  gentleman  of  the  name  of 
Brunskill,  resident  upon  the  western  extremity  of  "  Stane- 
more's  wintry  waste,"  sold  a  whole  herd  of  nolt,  and  with  the 
proceeds  purchased  a  set  of  bells  for  the  church  of  his  native 
parish ;  therefore  without  any  great  stretch  of  imagination,  the 
rhymester  is  fully  justified  in  calling  those  individual  bells, 
"  Brough  Stots." 

The  bells  at  Kirby  Stephen,  four  in  number,  are  generally 
allowed  to  be  of  very  superior  tone.  Those  of  the  two  other 
places  will  be  found  pretty  true  to  the  rhyme. 

The  following  is  another  version  of  the  story  about  the  Brough 
Bells. 

"  In  the  church  are  four  excellent  bells,  by  much  the  largest 
in  the  county,  except  the  great  bell  at  Kirkby  There.  Concern- 
ing these  bells  at  Brough,  there  is  a  tradition  that  they  were 
given  by  one  Brunskill,  who  lived  upon  Stanemore,  in  the 
remotest  part  of  the  parish  and  had  a  great  many  cattle.  One 
time  it  happened  that  his  bull  fell  a  bellowing,  which  in  the 
dialect  of  the  country  is  called  cruning  (this  being  the  country 
word  to  denote  that  vociferation)  whereupon  he  said  to  one  of 


214  THE  DENHAM  TEACTS.  .    . 

his  neiglibours,  *  Hearest  tliou  how  loud  this  bull  crunes  ?  If 
these  cattle  should  all  crune  together,  might  they  not  be  heard 
from  Brough  hither  ? '  He  answered  '  Yea/  '  Well,  then,' 
says  Brunskill,  '  I'll  make  them  all  crune  together.'  And  he 
sold  them  all,  and  with  the  'price  thereof  he  bought  the  said 
bells  (or  perhaps  he  might  get  the  old  bells  new  cast  and  made 
larger).  There  is  a  monument  in  the  church  in  the  south  wall, 
between  the  highest  and  second  windows,  under  which  it  is  said 
the  said  Brunskill  was  the  last  that  was  interred." — Hone's 
Table  Booh,  i.  col.  817. 


There's  Beswiok's  Kye  rowting. 

In  the  Chronicles  of  Westmoreland^  published  by  a  humble 
bard,  we  find  that  "  one  Beswick,  a  lifter  of  cattle,  was  return- 
ing over  Brough  Fells  with  some  kye  he  had  stolen  "  during 
the  good  old  times  when  meum  and  tuum  were  totally  unknown 
to  the  bold  Border  reivers,  and  on  their  making  a  great  rowting 
{i.e.  bellowing)  he  promised  in  his  heart  to  make  their  voices 
heard  over  hill  and  dale  for  many  a  long  year,  that  folks  should 
remember  Beswick's  raid.  He  kept  his  vow,  and  transformed 
the  kye  into  a  fine  set  of  bells^  which  adorn  the  steeple  of 
Brough  Church,  and  when  the  country  people  hear  Brough 
bells  ringing  they  exclaim,  "  There's  Beswick's  kye  rowting." 
Sheldon's  Minst  Eng.  Bord.,  p.  237. 

Whether  the  "  humble  bard,"  Mr.  Sheldon,  or  the  printer  is 
in  error  as  to  the  reiver's  surname,  I  cannot  say,  but  the  current 
tradition  of  the  neighbourhood  gives  the  ''  honour  and  credit  " 
to  master  Brunskill  as  related  in  the  previous  illustration,  A 
highly  respectable  local  family  of  this  (the  latter)  name  only 
became  extinct  on  the  spear  side  some  70  or  80  years  ago, 
who,  I  hesitate  not  to  assert,  were  descended  from  the  above 
individual  of  belj-ringing  and  kye-rowting  celebrity. 


WESTMOKELAND  KHTMES,  PROVERBS,  AND  SAYINGS.        215 

I  liave  been  bullied  by  an  usurper,  and  I  have  been  neglected  by  a 
court  ;  but  I  will  not  be  dictated  to  by  a  subject.  Your  man  shan't 
stand. 

Lady  Ann  Clifford,  Countess  Dowager  of  Pembroke,  Dorset, 
and  Montgomery;  Baroness  Clifford,  Westmoreland,  and 
Vesey ;  High  SheriflFess  by  inheritance  of  the  county  of  West- 
moreland, and  lady  of  the  Honour  of  Skipton  in  Craven,  is 
distinguished  among  women  for  her  learning,  unbounded 
generosity  and  high  spirit.  An  instance  of  the  last  she  nobly 
displayed,  to  Sir  Joseph  Williamson,  Secretary  of  State  to 
Charles  the  Second,  who  wished  to  force  a  member  into  Par- 
liament for  her  borough  of  Appleby.  Her  majestic  reply  to 
his  discourteous  command  was,  "  I  have  been  bullied  by," 
etc.     Neither  did  he  !     [She  died  in  1676.] 


Hercules  killed  Hart-a-greese, 
And  Hart-a-greese  killed  Hercules. 

When  Edward  Baliol,  King  of  Scotland,  visited  Robert  de 
Clifford,  in  1333,  it  is  said  they  ran  a  stag  by  a  single  dog,  not 
a  greyhound,  but  a  staunch  buckhound,  out  of  Whinfield  Park 
to  Redkirk,  in  Scotland,  a  distance  of  60  miles,  and  back  again 
to  the  same  place,  where  being  both  spent  the  siag,  exerting  his 
last  powers,  leaped  over  the  park  pales,  but  fell  dead  upon  the 
ground ;  the  hound,  attempting  the  same  leap,  fell  back  and 
died  on  the  contrary  side.  In  memory  of  this  (almost)  impro- 
bable circumstance,  the  heads  of  the  stag  and  dog  were  nailed 
upon  a  hawthorn  tree  in  Whinfield  Park,  and  although  the  tree 
has  disappeared  for  ages,  the  locality  is  still  known  by  the  name 
of  Harts-horn  Tree. 

"  Mr.  Lancelot  Morehouse  (Westmoreland)  told  me  a  story 
that  somewhere  in  that  north  country,  upon  an  oke,  were  fixt 
a  stagges  horn,  which  in  processe  of  time  grew  into  the  oke ; 


216  THE  DENHAM  TEACTS. 

the  oke  liad  inclosed  the  roote  of  them  ;  but  he  had  seen  the 
stumps  which  weather  and  time  had  curtailed.  The  tradition 
was,  that  a  greyhound  had  coursed  the  staprge  a  matter  of  30 
miles,  and  at  this  place  the  stagge  and  greyhound  fell  down 
both  dead,  and  in  a  plate  of  lead  was  writ  thus : 

Here  Hercules  kill'd  Hart-of-grease, 
And  Hart-of-grease  kill'd  Hercules." 

An,hreij  in  MSS.,  144  vo.  and  145  vo. 

Another  author  says :  "  The  horns  were  nailed  upon  a  neigh- 
bouring oak,  and  grew  as  it  were  naturally  in  the  tree,  till  the 
army  broke  one  in  1648  ;  the  other  was  broken  down  in  1658. 
The  tree  is  gone,  but  the  root  is  not  entirely  obliterated." — 
Beauties  of  England  and  Wales,  1817. 

The  dog's  name  was  Hercules,  and  both  he  and  his  equally 
long-winded  opponent  still  live  in  tradition  and  the  above  trite 
couplet.  [Hart-leap  Well  of  Wordsworth,  five  miles  from 
Richmond,  in  Yorkshire,  is  a  somewhat  similar  story.] 

NlNEKIRKS. 

The  following  paragraph  is  extracted  from  the  Carlisle 
Journal,  1837  :  "  Earl  Spencer  has  been  staying  at  Brougham 
Hall,  with  Lord  Brougham,  a  few  days.  On  Tuesday  the 
noble  lords  attended  divine  service  at  Nine-Churches.  The 
noble  lord  was  highly  delighted  with  the  scenery  surround- 
ing Brougham  Hall." 

The  parish  church  of  Brougham  is  pleasantly  situated  on  the 
south  bank  of  the  river  Eimont,  three  miles  east  of  Penrith.  It 
is  dedicated  to  St.  Ninian,  and  from  this  circumstance  it  is 
popularly  known  by  the  name  of  Nine-Kirks  or  Nine-Churches. 
A  foolish  tradition,  however,  exists,  that  the  waters  of  the 
Eimont  or  Eamont  washed  away  no  fewer  than  eight  churches 
ere  the  said  naughty  waters  allowed  this,  the  ninth,  to  stand. 


WESTMORELAND  RHYMES,  PROVERBS,  AND  SAYINGS.        217 

Curtven's  Card,  the  Knave  op  Clubs. 

Curwen  was  a  native  of  AVestmoreland  and  Archbishop  of 
Dublin.  In  Queen  Mary's  reign,  a  commission  was  sent  over 
to  Ireland  to  persecute  the  Protestants  with  fire  and  faggot. 
The  bearer  of  these  unchristian-like  orders  stopt  one  night  at 
Chester,  and  his  host,  a  true  Protestant,  having  got  an  inkling 
of  the  nature  of  his  journey,  stole  his  commission,  and  in  place 
thereof  inserted  the  knave  of  clubs.  Some  short  time  after  he 
arrived  in  Dublin  and  lost  no  time  in  laying  his  orders  before 
the  Archbishop  and  the  Privy  Council ;  Avhen  lo  !  on  opening 
the  packet,  nothing  presented  itself  but  a  dirty  and  worthless 
old  card  !  He  returned  with  all  speed  to  England  for  a  renewal 
of  the  orders,  but  although  he  made  all  haste  on  his  second  visit 
to  Ireland,  the  Queen's  death  took  place  before  his  arrival,  and 
the  poor  Protestant  people  were  preserved ! 


RARE  AND  POPULAR  RHYMES,  PROVERBS,  SAYINGS, 
CHARACTERISTICS,  &c.  &c.  RELATING  TO  CERTAIN 
TOWNS  AND  VILLAGES  IN  THE  COUNTY  OF  WEST- 
MORELAND. 

If  rain  is  stirring  it's  sure  to  find  its  way  to  Wet-Sleddale. 

Wet-Sleddale,  a  narrow  dale  in  the  parish  of  Shap,  environed 
by  lofty  fells  and  moorlands.  It  has  not  its  name  without 
sufficient  reason. 

Stenlcreth  Mill,  Wild  Boar  Fell,  and  Kissing  Hill, 
Kaber  Rigg,  Sower  Pow,  and  Coffin  Brigg. 

A  curious  topographical  couplet,  formed  of  the  genuine  names 


218  THE  DENHAM  TBACTS. 

of    six    places   in    the    immediate    neighbourhood   of  Kirkby 
Stephen. 

High  Eookby, 

Low  Eookby, 

And  Eookby-S  earth  : 

Lockford, 

And  Ladford, 

And  bonny  Coat -Garth, 

A  rather  euphonious  classification  of  the  names  of  six  farm- 
steads, also  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Kirkby  Stephen. 

The  Helm  is  up. 

In  the  mountainous  parts  of  this  county,  towards  the  N.W., 
a  very  remarkable  phenomenon  frequently  appears,  called  the 
Helm-wind.  A  rolling  cloud,  sometimes  for  three  or  four  days 
together,  hovers  over  the  mountain  tops,  the  sky  being  clear  in 
other  parts.  When  the  cloud  appears  the  country  people  say 
the  Helm  is  up.  The  word  helm  is  of  Saxon  origin,  and  pro- 
perly signifies  a  covering  for  the  head.  This  helm  is  not  dis- 
persed or  blown  away  by  the  wind,  but  continues  its  station  till 
a  violent  hurricane  comes  roaring  down  the  mountain,  ready  to 
tear  all  before  it.  Then,  on  a  sudden,  ensues  a  profound  calm  ; 
and  then  again,  gradually  the  cloud  gathers  on  the  mountain, 
and  the  tempest  alternately  ensues.  This  tempest,  however, 
seldom  extends  into  the  country  beyond  a  mile  or  two  from  the 
bottom  of  the  mountain.  The  helm-wind  is  common  to  Cum- 
berland as  well  as  Westmoreland. 

It  is  also  spoken  of  a  person  in  a  furious  passion. 

You    MUST    DO    AS    THEY    DO    IN    DeNT  ;    WHERE    THEY    DO    AS    THEY 
CAN   WHEN    THEY   CANNOT    DO    AS    THEY    WOULD. 

An  extremely  rural  and  wild  district  in  Westmoreland 
bordering  upon  a  river  of  the  same  name. 


WESTMORELAND  RHYMES,  PROVERBS,  AND  SAYINGS.        219 

When  Knipe-Scar  gets  a  hood, 
Suckworth  may  expect  a  flood. 

The  hamlet  of  Knipe  is  in  the  parish  of  Bampton.    Sackworth 
is  the  name  of  a  field  in  the  same  parish. 

Applbby. 

1.  The  Church  hes  low, 

And  the  Castle  stands  high  ; 
'Tis  a  very  bonny  place, 
And  the  Eden  runs  by. 

Note.—"  Though   "Westmoreland   hath    much   of  Eden    running 
through  it,  it  yet  hath  little  of  delight  therein." — Fuller. 

2.  Who  has  any  land  in  Appleby  ? 

The  above  query  is  generally  put  to  the  person  at  whose  door 
the  bottle  stands,  or  who  does  not  circulate  it  in  due  time. 

"  How  lies  the  land  ?  "     "  How  stands  the  reckoning  ?  " 

As    CRAFTY    AS    A    KeNDAL    FoX. 

Excerpit  out  of  an  oulde  balade  in  print : — 

There  be  many  foxes 

That  goe  on  two  legges, 
That  steal  greater  matters 

Than  cocks,  hennes,  and  egges  ; 

To  catch  many  gulls 

In  sheepos  clothing  they  goe, 
They  might  be  destroy'd, 

But  I  know  what  I  know. 

In   the  county  of  Durham   we   can   also   boast  of  a  right 
knowing  one  of  this  name,  viz.,  Bishop  Fox,  of  whom  Lord 


220  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

Bacon  observes  that  he  was  *'  a  wise  man,  and  one  that  could 
see  through  the  present  to  the  future." 

Egdale  for  sour  milk, 

Eosegill  for  whey  ; 
Banton  for  a  bonny  lass, 

At  ony  time  o'  day. 

Egdale  and  Rosegill,  or  Eossgill,  are  hamlets  in  the  parish  of 
Shap. 

The  Kent  and  Keir, 

Have  parted  many  a  good  man  and  his  mere  (mare). 

The  Eiver  Can,  Ken,  or  Kent,  rises  in  Kentmere,  and  after 
passing  Kendal,  flows  southward  to  the  vicinity  of  Milnthorpe, 
and  falls  into  the  ocean  in  the  Bay  of  Morecambe.  At  Kents 
Bank  resides  a  guide  who  conducts  travellers  over  this  part  of 
the  bay.  The  office  of  guide  has  been  held  by  a  family  of  the 
name  of  Carter  during  several  generations.  The  original  salary 
of  £10  a  year  has  been  wisely  augmented  to  £20  ;  the  gratuities 
of  travellers,  however,  help  to  add  materially  to  the  annual 
value  of  the  situation.  It  is  not  only  the  duty  of  the  guide  to 
conduct  travellers  over  the  dangerous  sands  and  shifting 
channels,  but  likewise  to  watch  their  almost  daily  changing 
jDositions,  etc.  A  small  island  called  Holme  situated  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Kent,  is  said  to  be  "  sometimes  in  Lancashire, 
and  sometimes  ib  Westmoreland  "  owing  to  the  stream,  whidi 
divides  these  counties,  occasionally  changing  its  course  from  the 
east  to  the  west  side  of  this  valueless  piece  of  land.  (See 
Whitaker's  Hibt.  of  RichmondsJiire,ip.  300.)  The  Kere  or  Keir, 
is  first  mentioned  by  Leland  ;  he  says,  "  Half  a  mile  from 
Warton  I  passed  over  Keri  river,  cumming  out  of  the  hills 
not  far  oflF,  and  then  ebbing  and  flowing."  The  Kere  runs 
through  the  parish  of  AVarton  in  the  county  of  Lancaster. 


WESTMOKELAND  RHYMES,  PROVERBS,  AND  SAYINGS.        221 

In  tliis  looalit}'  are  two  waterfalls,  which  make  a  hideous 
noise ;  one  at  Mihithorpe,  the  other  at  Levins,  on  the  liiver 
Ken,  about  five  miles  south  from  Kendal.  By  these  the  people 
foretell  the  weather,  for  when  that  at  Levins  soundeth  clear, 
they  say  it  betokeneth  fair,  and  when  the  clearer  sound  is  at 
Milntliorpe,  it  showeth  approaching  rain  and  mist. 

Stenkrith  Mill  where  the  Devil  grinds  Mustard. 

Stenkrith  Bridge  and  Mill  are  both  within  a  short  distance 
of  Kirkby  Stephen,  and  here  the  River  Eden  forms  several 
foaming  cataracts,  which  fall  to  a  considerable  depth  amongst 
numerous  broken  and  impending  rocks  with  round  water- 
worn  holes  in  them,  fi'om  one  foot  to  three  or  four  yards  in 
diameter,  and  from  one  foot  to  a  depth  which  has  never  been 
fathomed  by  mortal  eye.  The  deepest  of  these  is  known  by  the 
name  of  Cow-Carnell  Hole,  from  a  cow  belonging  to  an 
individual  of  the  name  of  Carnell  having  had  the  mishap  to  fall 
into  it.  Both  above  and  below  the  bridge  the  waters  insinuate 
themselves  into  fissures  of  the  rock,  where  forming  subterraneous 
channels  they  rush  forward  with  such  fury  and  noise,  that  the 
country  people  tell  you  if  you  will  only  apply  your  ear  to  the 
rock  or  ground  in  such  and  such  places,  which  they  point  out, 
you  will  hear  his  majesty  of  the  infernal  regions  grinding 
mustard  in  his  mill !  Some  have  supposed  that  the  Druids 
selected  this  awful  yawning  gulpli  of  solemn  shade  and  solitude, 
as  a  place  of  worship,  and  perforated  many  of  the  holes  in  the 
rocks  to  increase  its  horrors. 

Wild  Westmoreland. 

This  alliterative  characteristic  is  to  be  met  with  in  Drayton's 
Foli/olbion,  Song  33. 


222  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 


Epitaph  in  Kendal  Church. 


Here  lyotji  the  body  of  Mr.  Ralph  Tirer,  late  Vicar  of  Kendal, 
Bachelor  of  Divinity,  vfho  died  the  4th  day  of  June,  1627. 

London  bred  mee,  Westminster  fed  mee, 

Cambridge  sped  mee,  My  sister  wed  mee, 

Study  taught  mee,  Living  saught  mee. 

Learning  brought  mee,  Kendal  caught  mee, 

Labour  pressed  mee.  Sickness  distressed  me, 

Death  oppressed  mee,  The  Grave  possessed  mee, 

God  first  gave  mee,  Christ  did  save  mee, 

Earth  did  crave  mee,  And  Heaven  would  have  mee. 

The  above  epitaph  was  composed  by  the  worthy  vicar  him- 
self. This  tomb  is  placed  in  the  choir  of  the  above  named 
church,  and  the  inscription  is  worthy  of  the  reader's  perusal 
on  account  of  its  quaintness  and  yet  uncommon  historical 
precision. 

Epitaph  in  Brough  Cemetery,  Garth. 

Tho :  Gabetis,  Esq. 

The  Wise,  The  Eloquent,  The  Jvst. 
Lyes  here  interred  amongst  y^  Dust 
Below  :     Who  forty  years  and  more 
Was  Sheriffe.     Nowe  is  Heavens  store. 
Was  fresh  and  understanding  too. 

At  86  as  Those  That  Woo 

When  Death  w"'  Croaked  Syth  and  Glass 
Sett  out  y*^  Bovnds  he  shud  not  Pass. 
Saint  like  his  Sickness.     And  his  Death 
Admir'd  by  All :  his  Parteing  Breath 
Soe  Sweet  As  Might  Perfvme  yc  Earth. 
Dovbtless  y't  Spotless  Sovle  of  his 
Is  Gone  Into  Eternal  Bliss. 

Obiit  25  die  Martii 
Anno  salvtis  1694. 
CVerbatim  copy,  taken  1  March,  1830.) 


WESTMORELAND  KHYMES,  PROVERBS,  AND  SAYINGS.        223 

Wise  as  the  Westmoreland  Jury,  who  found  a  man  guilty  of 
Manslaughter  who  was  tried  for  stealing  a  Grindstone  ! 

This,  if  true,  lias  its  parallel  in  a  verdict  returned,  not  many- 
years  ago,  in  the  Court  at  Durham,  where  the  jury  brought  in 
a  verdict  of  "justifiable  homicide  "  against  a  prisoner  who  was 
tried  for  a  common  assault.  This  monstrous  verdict  gave  the 
poor  fellow  a  legal  acquittal.  This  is  an  absolute  and  positive 
fact,  and  the  writer  begs  leave  to  add,  that  he  had  the  honour  (?) 
to  be  personally  acquainted  with  more  than  one  of  the  twelve 
learned  jurors ! ! 

A  Kendal  Stockinger. 

Any  littlQ  thick-set  bossy  fellow  is  so  called.  The  following 
illustrative  dialogue  once  upon  a  time  occurred  at  Barnardcastle 
in  the  Bishopric  : — 

Q.  What  does  purdy  mean  ! 

A.  A  little  throssan  up  thing  like  a  Jack  at  Warts. 

Q.  What's  that? 
A.  Something  like  a  lime  burner. 
Q.  What  is  a  lime  burner  ? 
A.  Oh  !  nobbifc  a  Kendal  Stockener. 
Q.  What  is  that  ? 
A.  A  little  thick-set  fellow. 
See  Brockett's  Glossary  of  North  Country  Words,  vol.  ii.,  p.  83. 

The  Lowthers  buy,  but  never  sell ; 

The  family  of  Lowther  of  Lowther  Castell. 

This  opulent  family  possesses  immense  landed  property  in  the 
counties  of  Westmoreland  and  Cumberland.  The  whole  of  these 
manors  and  estates  have  been  acquired  peu  et  peu,  partly  by 
purchase  and  "  partly  by  other  means,"  as  the  West  Countrie 
folks  give  you  leave  to  infer.     Their  invariable  rule  has  been, 


224  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

from  a  very  early  age,  never  to  sell,  always  to  buy ;  and  being 
at  all  times  lucky  in  their  purchases,  they  have  raised  themselves 
to  what  they  now  arc,  one  of  the  richest  and  most  powerful  and 
honourable  families  in  the  north  of  England. 

The  Lucky-  Lowthers. 

A  plain,  truth-telling  old  proverb  says,  ''  'Tis  better  to  be 
born  lucky  than  rich,"  but  the  family  of  Lowther  have  had  the 
double  blessing  of  being  born  both  rich  and  lucky  ! 

As  Great  a  Thief  as  B  .  .   P ,  who  stole  the  bolt  off 

HIS  ow\  back-door. 

This  saying,  strange  as  it  may  appear,  had  its  origin  in  an 
absolute  fact.  Although  the  party  alluded  to  was  a  person  of 
independent  means,  yet  still  he  was  unfortunately  seized  with 
a  mania,  which  prevented  the  true  distinction  of  meum  and 
tuum  to  a  most  notorious  extent.  The  bolt  was  on  the  door  of 
the  house  of  one  of  his  farm-tenants,  and  watching  his  oppor- 
tunity he  stole  it  to  place  it  on  the  door  of  one  of  the  out- 
buildings in  his  own  occupation,  thus  leaving  his  tenant  to 
barricade  the  door  of  his  manse  as  best  he  could,  it  being  left 
not  only  boltless  but  lockless  also. 

Stowgill,  tweea  miles  ayont  t'world's  end. 

Stowgill  is  a  farmstead  on  Stanemore,  in  the  parish  of 
Broug-h. 

Door-head  Inscription. 

Thomas  Sandford,  Esquyr, 
For  thys  paid  meat  and  hyr. 
The  yeare  of  our  Savioure, 
Fifteen  hundrethe  seventy-foure. 

The  above  quaint  yet  valuable  inscription  appears  over  the 


WESTMORELAND  nHYMES,  PROYERRSj  AND  SAYINGS.        225 

gate  of  Askham  Hull,  near  Penrith.  The  manor  of  Askham 
■was  possessed  by  tlie  above  family  from  the  reign  of  Edward 
III.  till  1724.  It  is  an  oblong  turretcd  building,  and  was 
re-edified  or  greatly  enlarged  in  1574,  at  which  time  the 
written  stone  was  inserted  in  the  place  it  yet  occupies. 

The  old  manor-house  is  now  converted  into  the  rectory-house 
of  Lowther  parish. 

The  Orton  Boggle,  a  Ballad. 

Time—Blackell  Murry  Neet. 

Wey !  Gwordie  lad  has  te  been  up  to  Worton, 

T'  see  the  queer  tricks  that's  at  Cowper  House  dnin  ? 
Fwolk  say  that  tlie  gwhost  of  an  a^Yde  witchcraft  doctor, 

Turns  aw  wrong  seyde  up  ev'ry  day  about  nuin. 
A  carvin'-knife  jamp  at  a  parson  when  pray  in', 

He  up  and  mead  off  leyke  the  shot  of  a  gun. 
His  ATalkin'-stick  lap  boldly  out  o'  the  corner, 

And  joined  by  his  hat  quickly  efter  him  spun. 

The  cistern  began  to  rwoar  out  leyke  a  Kanter, 

The  clock  knock'd  the  great  rammin'  keale-pot  about, 
The  snap-teabels  clanked  off  a  Westmoreland  whornpipe, 

An'  t'  brush  gev  the  kettle  a  bang  on  the  spout. 
The  ^Yarmin'-pan  ran  ravin'  mad  to  t'  pump-trough. 

The  pvvokers  hopp'd  lishly  about  on  the  chairs, 
T'  awde  wife's  Sunday  hat  went  leyke  leetnin'  up  t'  chimley. 

An'  t'  coppy-stuil  jamp  leyke  a  cat  up  the  stairs. 

The  awde  heir-lume  kirn  walk'd  t'  et'  haw  quite  compos'dly. 

And  danc'd  "  Cross  the  Buckle"  and  "  Leatherdy  Patch," 
An'  t'  awde  kitchen  fender  waltzed  round  like  a  madman, 

Then  lap  wi'  the  fire-showl  reet  through  the  thatch. 
Twea  bacon-flicks  fell  wi'  a  clack  on  the  flooriu'. 

And  roll'd  roun'  the  house  leyke  ttvea  blin'  drunken  men  ; 
Then  t'  cwolly-dog  crap  anunder  the  ass-grate. 

Ant'  sairy  tom-cat  whe'a  ncabody's  seen  sen. 

Q 


226  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

The  cafiF-beds  com  rowllin'  down  stairs  all  together, 

Ant'  awd  carv'd  yek  wardrobe  fell  flatt  on  the  fluir  ; 
Young  Jwohn's  hairy  trunk  flew  reet  into  the  dairy, 

And  aw  the  milk  vessels  bang'd  out  at  the  duir. 
The  worn-out  cheese-press  was  dung  ower  wi'  a  bowster, 

The  seape-dish  rush'd  out  o'  the  house  in  a  crack, 
A  wood-box  threw  knives  leyke  an  Indian  juggler. 

Ant'  dishes  and  pleates  danc'd  leyke  mad  i'  th'  rack. 

Big  piles  through  the  rufe  in  com  droppin'  like  hailstones, 

And  brattles  leyke  thunder  Avere  frequently  heard  ; 
Till  in  drop't  frae  Pearith  sley  Scott,  Slee  and  Eayson, 

When  t'  "  Awde  wborny  Gentleman  "  nivver  yence  stirred. 
The  truth  sune  crap  out,  'twas  but  witchcraft  pretensions. 

The  servant  lass  tell't  how  the  story  was  raised, 
The  mistress  sune  cut  down  the  field  leyke  a  racer, 

For  leykest  of  ought,  just  a  woman  gaane  craz'd. 

Now !  ye  whea  put  faith  in  sick  stwories  o'  witchcraft, 

Leuk  back  to  the  reign  o'  King  What's-his-neam, 
When  deeth  was  the  end  of  ow  seek  leyke  professors, 

An'  mony  breet  folk  t'  the  gallows  were  ta'en. 
Ye  biggots  o'  Worton,  an'  other  bit  hamlets. 

Be  shammed  o'  yoursells,  I  think  it  full  teyme  ; 
For  whea  wad  hae  tliowt  t'  hear  tell  o'  seek  doin's, 

In  the  year  eighteen  hundred  and  forty  and  nine. 


VII. 

RARE  AND  POPULAR  RHYMES,  PROVERBS,  SAYINGS, 
CHARACTERISTICS,  REPROACHES,  ETC.,  RELATING 
TO  THE  INHABITANTS  OF  CERTAIN  TOWNS  AND 
VILLAGES ;  AND  ALSO  TO  PARTICULAR  FAMILIES 
AND  INDIVIDUALS  IN  NORTHUMBERLAND. 

Percy  Rhymes,  etc. 

1.  Harry  Hotspur — tlie  Fiery  Hotspur — Hotspur  Mars— the 
Hotspur  of  the  North.     [Hetspur,  Hector  Boethius.'] 

A  son  who  is  the  thtme  of  honour's  tongue. 

Play  of  He7i.  IV. 

Henrv,  Lord  Percy,  born  20  May,  1363  or  1364,  was  the 
eldest  son  of  Henry,  first  earl  of  Northumberland.  At  an 
early  age  he  displayed  those  martial  talents  which  have  im- 
mortalised his  name  in  history  as  one  of  England's  greatest 
chieftains.  At  the  coronation  of  Richard  11.  he  was  knighted. 
At  the  age  of  fourteen  he  spread  his  banner  at  the  siege  of 
Berwick,  "  doing  so  valiantlie  that  he  deserved  singular  com- 
mendation." His  furious  and  undaunted  zeal  against  the 
enemies  of  his  country  obtained  for  him  the  name  of  Hotspur. 
Of  this  name  he  was  no  little  proud,  and  both  friend  and  enemy 
adopted  it  as  his  sirname.  In  1386  he  was  made  Governor  of 
Berwick,  and  Warden  of  the  Marches  towards  Scotland.  In 
1388  he  encountered  the  Scottish  forces   at  Otterburne,  where 

Q2 


228  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

he  slew  Earl  Douglas  with  his  own  hand.  In  the  reign  of 
Henry  IV.  he  was  appointed  sheriff  of  Northumberland.  The 
heroic  Hotspur,  whose  mother  was  a  Neville  of  Raby  Castle, 
fell  in  the  battle  of  Shrewsbury,  21st  July,  1403. 

Holinshed,  in  his  Chronicles  of  Ireland ,  pp.  97,  101,  uses  the 
expression  "  an  headlong  Hotspur." 

2.  You're  none  of  the  Hotspurs. 

Made  use  of  when  accusing  a  noisy  braggadocio,  be  he  soldier 
or  civilian,  of  cowardice. 

3.  The  Percys'  profit  was  the  Lucys'  loss. 

This  doubly  alliterative  saying  is  alluded  to  by  Master  Fuller 
in  his  Worthies  of  England.  It  is  likewise  noticed  in  the 
Metrical  Chronicle  of  the  Family  of  Percy ^  Earls  of  Northumher- 
la?id,  by  William  Peeris,  clerke  and  priest,  and  secretary  to 
Henry  Y.,  Earl  of  Northumberland,  circa  1500. 

Then  afterwards  Margaret  the  P  Nevells  daughter  his  second  wife 

married  hee 
by  whom  hee  had  issue  three  sones  whose  names  bee 
henry  the  eight,  ralph  the  second,  and  the  third  thomas. 
margret  dyed  and  after  her  as  fortuned  the  case 
hee  married  maud  countesse  of  anguesh  his  therd  wife 
whicli  mother  was  to  elizabeth  his  first  wife 
and  by  the  said  maude  forthwithall 
the  lord  lucy  lands  by  her  guift  came  to  him  all. 
Soe  this  noble  man  if  yee  wisely  regard 
had  faire  lands  and  possessions  greate 

first  by  elizabeth  the  daughter,  and  by  maude  her  mother  afterwards, 
of  the  wch  noe  lawe  may  his  heirs  defeate, 
of  this  matter  it  needeth  noe  more  to  treate 
the  viitli  henry  was  the  first  earle  and  his  creation 
of  king  richard  the  second  day  of  his  coronation. 
The  said  lady  maud  lucy  as  I  understand 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.    229 

married  herself  conditionally  to  the  foresaid 

seaventh  henry  first  earl  of  Northumberland 

as  to  say  that  the  lord  pearcy  should  beare  continually 

the  blew  lion  and  the  lucies  silver  in  his  armes  quarterly 

her  name  he  might  not  take,  issue  none  had  shee 

therefore  she  Did  bind  him  to  beare  her  armes  as  in  his  armes  yea 

may  see. 
The  honour  of  Cockermouth,  came  by  her,  shee  gave  it  freely 
to  him  and  his  heires  as  by  the  Lawe  she  might 
bearing  the  foresaid  armes  of  her  in  memory 
w^**  the  blew  Lyon  the  Braband  armes  quarterly. 


4.  Henricus  Percy 
Hie  Pure  Sincerus, 

An  anagram,  from  Camden's  Remaines  on  Henry  Percys  Earl 
of  Northumberland.  "  Upon  which  with  relation  to  the  crescent 
or  silver  moone  was  framed  this — 

"  Percius  Hie  Pure  Sincere,  Persia  Luna 
Candida  tota  micat,  pallet  at  ilia  polo." 

5.  Stirps  persitina  periet  confusa  ruina. 

That  is,  ''  the  Percy  race  shall  perish  in  one  confused  ruin, 
A.D.  1408."  "  The  Erie  of  Northumberland  and  the  Lord  Bar- 
dolfe,  after  they  had  been  in  Wales,  in  France,  and  Flanders,  to 
purchase  ayde  against  K.  Henrie,  were  returned  backe  into  Scot- 
land, and  had  remayned  there  nowe  for  the  space  of  a  whole  yeare, 
and  as  theyr  evill  fortune  woulde  whilest  the  Kinge  helde  a 
counsell  of  the  Nobilitie  at  London,  the  saide  Earle  of  North- 
umberland and  Lorde  Bardolfe,  in  a  dismoll  houre,  with  a 
greate  power  of  Scotts,  returned  into  Englande,  recovering 
diverse  of  the  Earle's  castles  and  seigniories,  for  the  people  in 
great  numbers  resorted    unto   them.      Hereupon,  encouraged 


230  THE  DENHAM  TKACTS. 

witli  hope  of  good  successe,  they  enter  into  Yorkshyre,  and 
there  began  to  destroy  the  countrey.  At  their  coming  to 
Thersk,  they  pubHshed  a  proclamation,  signifying  that  they 
were  come  in  comfort  of  the  English  nation  as  to  relieve  the 
Commonwealth,  willing  all  such  as  loved  the  liberty  of  their 
countrey  to  repayre  unto  them  with  their  armor  on  their  backes, 
in  defensible  wise  to  assist  them.  The  king  advertised  thereof, 
caused  a  great  armie  to  be  assembled,  and  came  forward  with 
the  same  towards  his  enemies,  but  yer  the  king  came  to 
Nottingham,  Sir  Thomas,  or  (as  others  have)  Sir  Rafe  Rokesbie, 
sheriff  of  Yorkshire,  assembled  the  forces  of  the  countie  to  resist 
the  Earle  and  his  power,  comming  to  Grimbautbriggs,  besides 
Knaresborough,  there  to  stop  the  passage  ;  but  they  returning 
aside,  got  to  Weatherbie  and  so  to  Tadcaster,  and  finally  came 
forward  to  Bramham  Moore,  near  to  Haizelwood,  where  they 
chose  their  ground  to  fight  upon.  The  sheriffe  was  as  readie 
to  give  battell  as  the  Erie  to  receive  it ;  and  so  with  a  standard 
of  St.  George  spread,  set  fiercelie  upon  the  Erie,  who,  under  a 
standard  of  his  own  armes,  encountered  his  adversaries  with 
great  manhood.  There  was  a  sore  encounter  and  cruell  conflict 
betwixt  the  parties,  but  in  the  ende  the  victorie  fell  to  the 
sheriffe.  The  Lord  Bardolfe  was  taken  but  sore  wounded,  soe 
that  he  shortlie  after  died  of  his  hurts.  As  for  the  Erie  of 
Northumberland  he  was  slain  outright,  so  that  now  the 
prophecie  was  fulfilled  which  gave  an  inkling  of  this  his  heavie 
hap  long  before,  namely  : — 

Stirps  persitina  periet  confusa  riiina. 

For  this  Erie  was  the  stocke  and  maine  root  of  all  that  were 
left  aliue,  called  by  the  name  of  Persie,  and  of  manie  more  by 
diverse  slaughters  dispatched.  For  whose  misfortune  the  people 
were  not  a  little  sorrie,  making  report  of  the  gentleman's 
valiantnesse,  renowne,  and  honour.     His  head,   full  of  siluer 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.    231 

horle  haires,  being  put  upon  a  stake,  was  openlie  carried 
through  London,  and  set  vpon  the  bridge  of  the  same  citie ;  in 
like  manner  was  the  Lord  Bardolfe's." — Hollinshedj  1577. 

G.  Henry  the  Unthrifty. 

Henry  Algernon  Percy,  sixth  Earl  of  Northumberland,  was 
so  called  on  account  of  his  alienation  of  vast  numbers  of  the 
entailed  estates  of  the  family,  under  the  act  of  Henry  VIIL, 
which  the  king  got  passed  purposely  to  reduce  the  feudal  power 
of  the  English  barons.  This  act  wrought  its  purpose  in  the 
above  nobleman  to  that  extent,  that  he  condescended  to  write 
Secretary  Cromwell  to  solicit  the  appointment  of  the  captaincy 
of  Berwick-on-Tweed,  promising  a  vail  of  1000  marks.  After 
this  he  alienated  to  the  king  in  fee  his  house  at  Petworth,  and 
other  lands  in  Sussex,  his  lands  in  Middlesex,  and  large  estates 
in  Lincolnshire,  Pembrokeshire,  Carmarthenshire,  Somerset- 
shire, &c.,  &c.  Li  the  same  session  another  Act  was  passed 
settling  upon  the  king,  in  case  of  failure  of  issue,  all  the  other 
lands  belonging  to  the  earl.  The  extreme  difficulties  of  the 
earl  led  him  no  doubt  thus  to  dispose  of  the  inheritance  of  his 
ancestors,  and  to  trust  to  the  honour  and  generosity  of  the 
crown  for  their  restoration  at  a  future  period.  Having  acquired 
the  appellation  of  Henry  the  Unthrifty,  he  expired,  together 
with  all  his  accumulated  titles,  30th  June,  1537,  most  probably 
of  a  broken  heart,  in  consequence  of  beholding  the  ruin  of  his 
house.  On  the  accession  of  Mary  to  the  throne,  however,  "  the 
waned  crescent  of  the  Percies  "  again  "  filled  its  horns." 

7.  Lord  Northumberland's  Arms. 

Grose,  in  his  Classical  Dictionarji  of  the  Vulgar  Tongue^ 
notices  this  curious  saying,  sub  voce  ''  Northumberland,"  the 
plain  meaning  of  which  is  a  black  eye.  Notwithstanding 
numerous  researches  and  inquiries,  I  have  never  been  able  to 


232  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

meet  with  any  explanation,  or  even  suggestion,  wliicli  fully 
satisfied  me  as  to  its  origin  ;  and  I  take  it  simply  to  be  a  very 
poor  pun  upon  the  sirname  of  Percy. 

See  an  extremely  ingenious  theory  on  the  above  saying  in  the 
form  of  a  note  on  the  "  Percy  Badge  and  Cressawnt,"  pp.  369, 
370,  vol.  1,  of  the  St.  James's  Magazine,  by  ^Mr.  W.  Hylton 
LongstafFe. 

8.  In  Exaltatione  Lunac  Leo  siiccumbet,  et  Leo  cum  Leone 
conjugetur,  et  catuli  eorum  regnabunt. 

This  "old  blind  Latin"  prophecy  may  be  translated  thus:  "  At 
the  exaltation  of  the  moon  (which  was  the  rising  of  the  Earl  of 
Northumberland,  that  giveth  the  moon  in  his  shield  of  arms) , 
the  lion  (which  is  the  Queen's  Majesty)  shall  be  overthrown ; 
then  shall  the  Hon  be  joined  with  a  lioness  (which  is  the  Duke 
of  Norfolk  with  the  Scottish  Queeii,  for  they  both  bear  lions  in 
their  arms),  and  their  whelps  shall  reign,  i.e.,  their  posterity 
shall  have  the  kingdoms." 

9.  The  Proud  Percys. 

In  the  ancient  ballad  of  the  Battle  of  Otterhurne,  we  read : — 

Awaken,  Douglas  !  cryed  the  knyght, 

For  thou  maiste  waken  wyth  wynne  ;  \ 

Yonder  have  I  spyed  the  prowde  Percy, 
And  seven  standardes  wyth  hym. 

As  regards  the  "  potential  "  and  "  peerless  "  properties  of 
this  not  only  "patrician"  but  "princely"  and  "powerful" 
family,  their  position  in  the  North  of  England  during  a  period  of 
more  than  six  hundred  years,  must  be  permitted  to  speak  more 
in  their  praise  than  I  dare  presume,  without  being  chargeable 
with  promulgating  positive  flattery ;  and  as  to  the  characteristic 
of  pride,  it  were  an  easy  matter  to  quote  parties  who  were  only, 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.    233 

as  it  were,  enobled  yesterday,  whose  vanity  of  position,  and 
pride  of  ancestry,  exceed  that  of  '^  the  Percy  "  a  thousand  fold. 

"  Like  all  powerful  families  in  feudal  times,  the  Percys 
occasionally  basked  in  the  smiles  of  courtly  favour,  or  felt  the 
withering  influence  of  royal  jealousy.  At  one  time  their  kings 
wrote  them  '  his  right  trustie  and  well-beloved  cousin ' ;  and  at 
another  '  traytor '  and  '  arch-enemie  '  were  the  terms  employed. 
Like  themselves,  their  place  of  strength  underwent  the  varied 
changes  incident  to  a  troubled  age  and  dangerous  locality. 
This  day  its  gates  were  open  to  give  noble  welcome  to  guest 
and  traveller ;  and  the  next  would  find  them  closely  barred  to 
repel  the  threatened  onslaught  of  the  besieger." — Maxwell's 
Hillside  and  Border  Sketches. 

10.  I  have  saved  the  bird  in  my  breast. 

The  brave  Sir  Ralph  Percy  (fourth  son  of  Henry,  Earl  of 
Korthumberland,  who  was  slain  at  the  battle  of  St.  Albans,  22nd 
May,  1455),  joined  the  standard  of  Queen  Margaret,  and  in  her 
cause  encountered  the  army  of  Neville,  Lord  Montagu.  During 
the  contest  he  was  abandoned  by  the  Lords  Hungerford  and 
Eoos,  his  companions  in  arms;  and  the  gallant  Percy,  and  a 
great  number  of  his  faithful  followers  and  attendants,  fell 
bravely  fighting  on  the  field  of  battle,  performing  wonders  to 
the  last.  When  the  "  trustie  "  Percy  was  dying,  alluding  to 
his  oath  to  Henry  VI.,  he  exclaimed,  ''  I  have  saved  the  bird 
in  my  bosom."  Such  were  the  dying  words  of  this  illustrious 
chieftain  of  the  Percy  race. 

IL  Percy  Slogans,  or  War  Cries. 

1.  Percy  !  Percy  ! 

2.  A  Percy  !  A  Percy  ! 

3.  Esperance  Percy  ! 

4.  A  Percy,  Esperance  ! 

5.  Thousands  for  a  Percy  ! 


234    .  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 


Fenwick  Ehymes,  &c. 

But  he,  the  chieftain  of  them  all, 
His  sword  hangs  rusting  on  the  wall, 
Beside  his  broken  spear. 

.1.  The  Fierce  Fenwicks. 
2.  The  Warlike  Band  of  Fenwick. 

The  ancient  and  clearly  earned  characteristics  of  the  heroic 
family  of  Fenwick.  This  family,  which  is  unquestionably  of 
Saxon  origin,  takes  its  name  from  the  fastness  in  the  fenny 
grounds  in  the  parish  of  Stamfordham.  Their  ancient  place  of 
residence  was  the  Pile,  Tower,  or  Castle  of  Fenwick.  The  right 
of  this  bold  Border  family  to  the  designation  of ' '  fierce  "  is  recorded 
by  contemporary  poets,  chroniclers,  and  historians,  and  also 
handed  down  by  tradition.  Grafton,  in  his  Chronicle,  relates  as 
follows :  "  A.D.  MDXXiv,  the  fift  daye  of  July,  Sir  John  a  Fen- 
wicke,  Leonard  Musgrave,  and  Bastard  Heron,  and  divers  others, 
gathered  together  ix  hundred  men  and  entered  into  Scotland,  in 
the  countrye  called  the  Marche,  and  robbed  and  spoyled  all  the 
countrie,  and  by  chaunce  the  same  season  the  Scots  had  assembled 
ii  M.  men  to  invade  Englande,  and  none  of  these  knewe  of  the 
other  tyll  they  by  adventure  met  together.  Then  began  a  strong 
medleye,  for  the  Scottes  fought  valliantly  a  great  while,  and  the 
Englishmen  them  hardly  assayled,  and  at  last,  by  fine  force, 
caused  them  to  leave  the  grounde  and  flie,  and  in  the  fight  were 
taken  ii  c.  Scottes  and  many  slaine,  of  which  the  prisoners  divers 
were  gentlemen.  Sir  Eaufe  of  Fanwicke,  Leonard  Musgrave, 
and  Bastard  Heron,  with  xxx  other  Englishmen  well  horsed, 
followed  so  far  the  chace  that  they  were  past  rescues  of  their 
company,  which  perceyving,  the  Scottes  sodainly  returned  and 
set  on  the  Englishmen,  which,  oppressed  with  the  multitude, 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.     235 

were  soon  overcome,  and  there  was  taken  Sir  Eaufe  a  Fanwicke, 
Leonard  Musgrave,  and  syx  other,  and  Bastard  Heron  and 
seaven  other  were  slayne,  the  remnant  by  chaunce  escaped ;  the 
other  Englishmen  with  their  ii  c.  prisoners  returned  safely  into 
England.  The  slaiyng  of  the  Bastard  Heron  was  more  pleastire 
to  the  Scottes  than  the  taking  of  the  ii  c.  was  displeasure,  they 
hated  him  so."— jEcZ.  1580. 

In  the  fierce  conflict  which  ensued  at  the  Warden  Meeting  of 
the  Eedeswire,  Sir  John  Forster,  Warden  of  the  Middle  Marches, 
some  of  the  Fenwicks,  and  several  other  Border  Chiefs,  were 
taken  prisoners  to  Dalkeith,  where  they  were  detained  several 
days  and  then  dismissed  with  sundry  presents. 

"  In  the  reign  of  King  Charles  I.,  Col.  Geo.  Fenwick  (of 
Brinkburn)  was  in  the  service  of  Parliament  and  Governor  of 
Berwick-on-Tweed.  Cromwell,  on  taking  Edinburgh,  1650, 
made  him  governor  of  that  place  also.  He  summoned  the 
governor  of  Hume  Castle  to  surrender  to  Cromwell.  The 
governor  answered,  he  knew  not  Cromwell,  and  for  his  castle,  it 
was  built  on  a  rock.  The  ordnance  playing  against  it,  he  sent 
Fenwick  these  verses  ; 

I,  William  of  the  Wastle 
Am  now  in  my  Castle  ; 
An'  aw  the  dogs  in  the  town 
Slian'd  garre  me  gang  down. 

Breaches  were  made  in  his  castle  and  many  rich  goods  spoiled: 
Gallant  William  was  forced  to  surrender  (Feb.  13,  1651) ;  the 
soldiery  were  ordered  to  share  the  goods,  except  some  furniture 
and  bedding  for  the  accommodation  of  his  lady." —  Wallis. 

The  above  rhyme,  with  trifling  variations,  is  used  to  this  day 
in  the  south  of  Scotland.  A  boy  standing  upon  a  hillock  defies 
the  efforts  of  others  to  dislodge  him,  exclaiming  by  way  of 
challenge  : 


236  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

I,  Willie  Wastle, 

Stand  on  my  castle  ; 

And  a'  tlie  dogs  o'  your  toon 

Will  no  drive  Willie  Wastle  doon. 

The  "  Willie  Wastle "  of  history  was  "  one  Jhone  Cock- 
burne." — Chambers,  Pop.  Rhy.  Scot. 

During  the  governorship  of  Col.  Fenwick,  and  under  his 
direction,  Berwick  Church  was  built,  and  his  remains  were 
interred  therein  15  March,  1656. 

Slogan. 

3.  A  Fenwyke  !  A  Fenwyke  ! !   A  Fenwyke  ! ! ! 

[Although  the  author  makes  several  remarks  here,  the 
subject  has  already  been  sufficiently  illustrated.  See  on 
Slogans,  ante.~\ 

4.  To  teach  one  the  way  to  Wallington. 

When  any  one  has  a  splendid  hand  at  cards,  and  is  beating 
easily,  he  is  said  to  be  teaching  his  antagonist  the  way  to  Wal- 
lington. The  origin  of  the  saying  is,  I  believe,  forgotten,  I 
mean  so  far  as  the  above  application  goes.  In  all  probability 
it  is  only  a  comparatively  modern  variation  of  the  following 
ancient  cry : 

5.  Show  me  the  way  to  Wallington. 

This  old  cry,  as  I  may  call  it,  had  its  rise  from  the  princely 
hospitalities  of  Wallington ;  indeed,  the  immense  kindness  of 
the  family  was  so  proverbial  that  it  forms  the  subject  of  local 
songs.  Show  us  [v.  me]  the  way  to  Wallington  is  an  old  and 
favourite  air  in  the  neighbourhood.  Lovers  of  good  cheer  are 
often  induced  to  exclaim  in  the  above  words  when  discoursing 
on  the  pleasures  of  the  table. 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.      237 

The  following  quatrain  is  supposed  to  be  a  fragment  of  the 
song  alluded  to  : — 

Dear  billy  Sam,  show  rae  the  way  to  "Wallington  ; 
I  have  a  grey  mare  o'  my  ain,  she  ne'er  gies  owre 

a-gallopin  ; 
Down  by  Bingfield  Came  (Comb),  and  in  by  the  banks 

o'  Hallington, 
Through  by  Baavington  Syke — and  that's  the  way  to 

Wallington. 

[Tliis,  which  I  sent  to  Mr.  Denham,  was  obtained  from  an 
old  man  who,  in  his  youth,  had  lived  near  the  place.  It  is  a 
rhyme,  sung  to  the  tune  of  "  Show  me  the  way  to  Wallington," 
by  nurses  dandling  children  on  their  knees,  and  I  do  not  suppose 
it  was  ever  anything  else.  Bingfield  Comb  is  a  farmsteading. 
Hallington  Hall  is  a  gentleman^s  seat.  Bavington  Syke  (pr. 
Baavington)  is  probably  a  marsh  passed  in  olden  time  near  one 
of  the  places  called  Bavington,  neither  of  them  far  from  the 
present  public  road. — J.  H.]* 

6.  The  wine  of  Wallington  old  songsters  praise  : 
The  Phoenix  from  her  ashes  Blacketts  raise. 

Cheviot,  a  Poem,  p.  14. 

Wallington  was  possessed  by  the  Fenwicks  through  a  long  suc- 
cession. It  was  purchased  by  the  second  Sir  William  Blackett, 
whose  father,  an  alderman  of  Newcastle,  was  created  a  baronet 
1673,  and  died  1680. 

Wallington  has  from  an  early  period  been  proverbial  for  its 
hospitality^  and  none  of  its  magnificence  was  found  to  abate  in 
the  change  of  ownership. 

The  Phoenix  named  in  the  second  line  alludes  to  the  Fenwick 

*  Converted  into  a  recent  song,  "  Show  me  the  way  to  Wallington," 
which  may  be  found,  accompanied  with  the  small  pipe  music,  in  The 
Monthly  Chronicle  of  North  Country  Lore  and  Legend,  1890,  pp.  421-2. 


238  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

crestj  and  is  intended  as  a  pun  on  Fenwick ;  and  as  the  crest 
alludes  to  the  surname  of  the  family,  so  does  the  motto, 

Perit :  ut :  vivat, 
allude  to  the  crest. 

7.  Harnham  was  headless,  Bradford  breadless, 
And  Shaftoe  picked  at  the  Craw  ; 
Capheaton  was  a  wee  bonny  place, 
But  Walliugton  bang'd  them  a'. 

Harnham  is  in  the  parish  of  Bolam,  10^  miles  W.S.W.  of 
Morpeth.  "  On  the  black  day  of  November  2,  1653,  the  House 
of  Commons  resolved  that  the  name  of  Thomas  Winkle,  of 
Harnham,  be  inserted  into  the  Bill  for  the  sale  of  estates 
forfeited  to  the  Commonwealth  for  treason."  His  son,  Thomas 
Wrinkles  or  Winkles,  of  Ford^  sold  the  house  and  land. 
Harnham  anciently  belonged  to  the  Babingtons. — Hodgson's 
Hist,  of  Northumberland,  vol.  i.,  part  ii.,  p,  345. 

The  Craw,  in  line  two,  evidently  alludes  to  the  Crasters, 
anciently  Craucestre,  who  were  rapidly  getting  the  estates  of 
the  Shaftoe  family  into  their  possession ;  and  were,  as  a  con- 
sequence picked  at  by  the  junior  branches  of  that  family. 

Capheaton,  in  the  parish  of  Kirkwhelpington,  a  place  of  some 
beauty,  is  the  mansion  of  Sir  John  Swinburne ;  and  has  been 
for  many  generations  a  possession  of  the  family.  It  contains  the 
best  private  library  of  any  gentleman  in  Northumberland. 

Fair  Wallington  has  been  decreed  by  fate 
To  be  the  capital  of  a  large  estate. 
'  Cheviot,  a  Poem. 

Wallington  is  in  the  parish  of  Hartburn. 
[It  came  into  the  possession  of  the  Fenwicks  by  marriage, 
and  was  sold  in  the  latter  part  of  the  17tli  century  to  Sir 
William  Blackett,  by  Sir  John  Fenwick,  Bart.,  who,  for  the 
crime  of  high  treason,  was  condemned  and  beheaded  on  Tower 
Hill,  London,  27th  Jan.,  1696.] 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.     239 

8.  If  you  give  your  horse  tlie  bridle,  he'll  carry  you  to  Wallington. 

The  above,  wHch  used  to  be  a  common  expression  in  North- 
umberland, with  reference  to  the  hospitalities  of  Wallington, 
proves  that  the  Fenwyke  kindness  extended  not  to  man  alone — 
his  beast  also  partook  of  a  well-filled  rack  and  manger. 

9.  Sir  John  Fenwick's  the  flower  amang  them. 

The  name  of  the  old  clan  tune  of  the  Fenwyke.  Although 
the  names  of  but  few  of  these  tunes  and  songs  have  descended 
to  us,  there  is  no  question  but  that  every  feudal  lord  and  war- 
like sept  (those  of  the  Borders  more  especially)  had  its  own 
peculiar  gathering  march,  or  battle  song ;  to  which  was 
attached  its  equally  peculiar  family  tune.  These  tunes  are 
described  as  being  "  stately  and  animating,  rising  often  to  a 
degree  cf  fury."  As  in  Scotland,  so  also  in  Northumberland, 
the  favourite  musical  instrument  was  the  pipes,  which  instru- 
ment is  singularly  adapted  for  the  pibroch — a  species  of  martial 
music  proverbial  for  its  wild  and  impassioned  notes.  These 
clan  tunes  were  used  with  the  greatest  efi*ect  when  marching  to 
the  battle  field. 

The  music  of  the  Fenwyke  war  song  is  preserved  in  MS.,  but 
the  words  I  fear  are  lost.  Mr.  John  Fenwick  de  Novo  Castro 
super  Tinam,  one  of  the  "  knightly  family,"  informs  ine  that 
he  had  heard  his  mother  sing  the  song  when  he  was  a  child. 
He  also  says  that  the  town  waits  of  Hexham  used  uniformly  to 
play  the  tune  at  his  father's  door. 

Fama :  Semper  :  Viret. 

10.  Fenwick  of  By  well's  away  to  Newmarket, 
Away  to  Newmarket,  away  to  Newmarket ; 
Fenwick  of  Bywell's  away  to  Newmarket, 
And  he'll  be  there  before  we  get  started. 

This  old  jingle  is  curious,  inasmuch  as  it  is  the  only  instance 


240  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

of  a  nursery  rhyme  which  involves  a  local  sirname  and  residence 
that,  at  present  occurs  to  me.  [I  procured  this  from  the  same 
party  from  whom  I  noted  down  the  rhyme  in  No.  5.  William 
Fenwick,  Esq  ,  of  By  well,  was  a  noted  sportsman,  whom  I  find 
mentioned  at  different  dates  from  1758  to  1771  ;  and  he  lived 
probably  later  than  that,  for  in  1790  a  "long  main"  (cock- 
fighting)  was  fought  at  Hexham,  between  the  Duke  of 
Northumberland  and  Mr.  Fenwick,  and  another  main  the 
same  year  at  Alnwick,  between  the  Duke  of  Northumberland 
and  Charles  Grey,  Esq.  (the  late  Earl  Grey) ,  jointly,  and  Mr. 
Fenwickj  of  By  well.*  The  verses  cannot  be  older  than  the  end 
of  the  eighteenth  century. — J.  H.] 


Gathering  Ode  of  the  Fenwick. 

The  slaughtered  cliiefs,  the  mortal  jar, 
The  havoc  of  the  feudal  war, 
Shall  never,  never  be  forgot. 

By  purchase  and  by  marriage  with  some  of  the  principal 
families  in  Northumberland,  the  Fenwyke  obtained  large 
possessions,  which  from  the  unsettled  state  of  the  times 
required  the  protection  of  military  power. 

The  late  Mr.  William  Richardson,  of  North  Shields,  pub- 
lished the  following  "  Gathering  Ode  "  in  one  of  our  local  prints 
several  years  ago.  Mr.  Richardson  supposes  an  inroad  of  the 
Scots  to  have  taken  place  in  the  absence  of  the  Percy  in 
Palestine,  and  that  this  ode,  in  the  manner  of  the  Highland 
pibroch,  Avas  used  by  the  Fenwicke  to  repel  them.  He 
"respectfully   inscribed   it"    to   a   descendant  of  the  ancient 

*  Hand-book  to  Newcastle-upon-Tyne,  by  Rev.  Dr.  Bruce,  p.  102. 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.     241 

warlike  band  of  Fenwicke  (viz.,  Mr.  John  Fenwick,  Newcastle). 
The  notes  arc  Mr.  Richardson's. 

Pipe  of  North iimbria  sound  ! 

War  pipe  of  Alnwick ! 
Wake  the  ^yild  hills  around, 

Summon  the  Fenwick  ; 
Percy  at  Panim  *  war, 

Fenwick  stands  foremost ; 
Scots  in  array  from  far. 

Swell  wide  their  war-host. 

See,  fierce  from  the  border, 

Wolf-like  he  rushes  ; 
Drives  southward  the  Warder  ; 

Gore-stream  forth  gushes ; 
Come  spearman,  come  bowman. 

Come  bold-hearted  Truewicke; 
Repel  the  proud  foeman  ; 

Join  lionJike  Bewicke.f 

From  Fenwick  and  Denwicke, 

Harlow  and  Hallington  ; 
Sound  bugle  at  Alnwicke, 

Bagpipe  at  Wallington  ;  | 
On  Elf  Hills  §  th'  alarm  wisp,  || 

Smoulders  in  pale  ray  ; 
Maids,  babes  that  can  scarce  lisp, 

Point  trembling  the  bale  way. 

*  Or  Paynim — the  Crusade,  f  Names  of  clans  or  families,  the 
retainers  or  vassals  of  Percy  and  allies  of  Fenwick,  descendants  of 
whom  exist  to  this  day.  if  Hamlets  in  Northumberland.  §  The 
Hills  of  the  Fairies,  near  Cambo  ;  Sir  John  de  Cambo  kept  a  Avatch 
on  these  and  the  neighbouring  eminences.  ||  A  wisp  of  straw  or 
tow,  mounted  upon  the  point  of  a  spear,  and  set  on  fire  when  a  raid 
took  place.  When  this  portentous  ensign  was  carried  through  the 
Border  country,  all  must  instantly  fly  to  arms.    It  was  the  *•  hot-trod." 

B 


242  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

Leave  the  plough,  leave  the  mow, 

Leave  loom  and  smithie  ; 
Come  with  your  trusty  yew, 

Strong  arm  and  pithy  ; 
Leave  the  herd  on  the  hill, 

Lowing  and  flying  ; 
Leave  the  vill,  cot  and  mill, 

The  dead  and  the  dying. 

Come  clad  in  your  steel  jack, 

Your  war  gear  in  order. 
And  down  hew  or  drive  back 
.  The  Scot  o'er  the  Border  ; 

And  yield  you  to  no  man  ; 

Stand  firm  in  the  van-guard  ; 
Brave  death  in  each  foeman, 

Or  die  on  the  green-sward. 

[11.  *'  Insignis  et  illustris  Fenwickorum  progenies."] 

To    OR    MAY    TAKE    HeCTOR's    ClOAK. 

That  is  to  deceive  a  friend  wlio  confides  in  your  fidelity. 
When  Thomas  Percy,  Earl  of  Northumberland,  was  defeated  in 
the  rebellion  he  had  raised  against  Queen  Elizabeth,  he  hid 
himself  in  the  house,  of  one  Hector  Armstrong,  having  con- 
fidence he  would  be  true  to  him;  who,  notwithstanding,  for 
money  betrayed  him  to  the  Regent  of  Scotland,  1569.  At  the 
period  of  this  event  Hector  was  living  at  Harelaw,  in  the  town- 
ship of  Paston,  five  miles  west  of  Kirknewton ;  and  it  was 
observed  that  from  being  a  comparatively  rich  man,  he  suddenly 
became  poor ;  and  was  besides  so  generally  hated,  that  he  durst 
not  go  abroad  ;  insomuch  that  the  above  proverb  is  continued  to 
this  day  in  Northumberland  (and  has  spread  itself  through  the 
whole  of  England) ,  in  the  sense  above  mentioned. 

["  Hector  of  Tharlowes  hedd  was  wished  to  have  been  eaten 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATmG  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.      243 

amongst  us  at  supper." — Sadler's  State  Papers,  Edin.,  1809, 
ii.,  384,  388.  Mr.  Denham's  notice  is  from  Mackenzie's 
Northumberland,  i.,  p.  375.  Both  have  mistaken  Hector  Arm- 
strong's residence,  which  was  at  Harlaw,  in  the  precincts  of 
Liddesdale,  and  not  tlie  Northumbrian  Harelaw. — J.  H.] 

If  they  come,  they  come  not : 
If  they  come  not,  they  come. 

The  cattle  of  the  people  living  on  the  Borders  turned  into  the 
common  pasture,  did  by  custom  use  to  return  to  their  homes  at 
night,  unless  intercepted  by  the  freebooters  of  the  Scottish 
Borders.  If,  therefore,  these  Borderers  came,  their  cattle  came 
not ;  but  if  they  came  not,  their  cattle  surely  returned.  In 
reality,  this  old  saying  is  a  Border  riddle.  [I  procured  this 
saying  at  Wooler.  In  the  Scotsmari's  Library,  however,  p.  136, 
it  is  cited  as  a  Border  motto,  to  mark  the  incessant  vigilance 
with  which  the  Borderers  guarded  their  castles. — J.  H.j 

Amicus  Amico  Alanus, 
Belliger  Belligero  Bellinghamus. 

Sir  Alan  Bellingham,  son  of  Richard  Bellingham,  of  Belling- 
ham  Castle,  was  treasurer  of  Berwick,  and  deputy  warden  of 
the  marches,  in  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.  The  above  distich 
alludes  to  Sir  Alan's  disposition,  which  was  to  be  friendly  to 
his  friends,  and  ever  ready  to  fight  his  foes. 

The  Courteous  Collingwoods. 

The  characteristic  of  one  of  Northumbria's  patrician  families. 
This  enviable  epithet  is  to  be  met  with  in  the  ballad  of  the  Raid 
of  the  Reidsioire.  [Horsley  sa3^s  of  the  last  of  the  Collingwoods 
of  Eslington,  who  lost  his  life  and  estate  for  participating  in  the 
rebellion  of  1715  :    "  His   fate   was  generally  lamented   and 

r2 


244  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

pitied,  he  himself  having  had  the  character  of  an  inoffen- 
sive, peaceable  gentleman." — Horsley's  Northumberland,  p.  54. 
Edited  by  Mr.  Hodgson- Hinde.] 

EOBIN    OF    ReDESDALE. 

This  ancient  cognomen,  which  has  now  attached  itself  to  a 
gigantic  figure  cut  upon  a  large  rock  within  half  a  mile  of  the 
Roman  station  of  Risingham  ;  was  originally  given  to  one  of  the 
family  of  Umfraville,  lords  of  Prudhoe.  It  was  also  at  a  later 
period  given  to  one  Robert  Hilliard,  a  friend  and  follower  of 
the  king-making  Earl  of  Warwick.  This  person  commanded  an 
army  of  Northamptonshire  and  Northern  men,  who  seized  and 
beheaded  without  judgment  the  Earl  Rivers,  father  to  Edward 
the  Fourth's  queen,  and  his  son,  Sir  John  Wood\^ille.  See 
Holinshed,  ad  annum  1469.  [There  were  more  Robins  of 
Redesdale ;  but  neither  they  nor  the  last  quoted  have  any  con- 
nection with  the  Northumbrian  vale  of  the  Rede  or  Reed.  In 
1468-9,  Sir  William  Conyers,  Knight,  "  whiche  called  himself 
Robyne  of  Riddesdale,"  headed  a  great  insurrection  in  York- 
shire, Warkicorth  Chronicle,  p.  6 ;  also  J.  0.  Halliwell  in 
Archceologia,  xxix.,  p.  138.  At  Richard  the  Third's  corona- 
tion, 4th  July,  1483,  "he  had  sent  for  five  thousand  men  out 
of  the  north ;  who  came  to  London,  under  the  leading  of 
Robin  Riddersdale."  Baker's  Chronicle,  p.  226. — See  another 
account  of  Conyers'  insurrection,  Slogans,  ante.^ 

Robin  Mend-Market. 

At  the  foot  of  Yevering  Bell,  and  a  little  to  the  south  of  the 
village  of  Yevering,  is  an  upright  stone,  about  twelve  feet  high, 
where  Sir  Robert  Umfraville,  popularly  known  by  the  name  of 
Robin  Mend-Market,  defeated  a  party  of  Scots  in  1415.  In  1410, 
Sir  Robert  Umfraville  took  fourteen  Scotch  ships  with  his  ten 
English  in  the  Firth  of  Forth,  and  took  and  burnt  Peebles  on 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.     245 

the  fair  day,  "  where  he  caused  his  men  to  mete  cloth  with  their 

bows." 

"  At  Pebles  long  afore  that  time  iiii  yere, 
He  brente  the  towne  upon  their  market  daye, 
And  met  theyr  cloth  wit  speares  and  bowes  sere. 
By  his  bidding  without  any  naye  ; 
Wherefore  the  Scottes,  from  thence  forthward  ay, 
Called  him  Robin  Mendmarket  in  certayn, 
For  his  measures  were  so  large  and  playn." 

Harding's  Chronicle. 

Other  authorities  say  he  derived  the  name  from  the  corn  and 
cattle  which  he  got  in  his  frequent  inroads  having  the  popular 
effect  of  lowering  the  prices  of  provisions  in  the  Northumberland 
markets.  Indeed  a  passage  in  Harding  himself  lends  some 
countenance  to  the  notion. 

"  With  his  prises  he  came  to  Englande, 
Full  of  cloth,  woollen,  and  lynnen  that  land  to  amend, 
Pytche  and  tarre  both,  for  fre  and  bond, 
For  to  amende  the  shepes  of  our  lande  ; 
Floure  and  mele  of  whete  and  rye  he  solde 
The  market  he  so  mended  manyfolde." 

[The  standing  stone  at  Yevering,  in  a  field  on  the  north  side 
of  Yevering  Bell,  belongs  to  a  much  earlier  period  than  Umfre- 
ville's  exploit.  Another  stone  at  the  south-east  end  of  the  hill, 
near  a  tumulus,  is  now  prostrate.  A  similar  monument  near 
Humbleton,  said  to  memorialise  the  Battle  of  Homildon,  was 
found  to  be  associated  with  British  remains.  Two  fine  bronze 
celts  were  obtained  near  the  Humbleton  Stone.  All  these  three 
stones  are  noticed  in  Materials  for  the  History  of  Nortliurriber- 
land,  by  the  Rev.  John  Horsley  (1729-30),  privately  printed  by 
Mr.  Hodgson  Hinde,  p.  12:  "Two  of  these  are  in  Yeavering 
grounds,  at  a  distance  from  one  another,  which  a  countryman 
told  me  was  set  over  one  that  was  murdered  or  had  destroyed 


246  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

himself.  This  traditionary  story  may  have  arose  from  its  being 
a  sepulchral  stone  of  some  kind  or  other.  I  saw  another  such 
between  Akeld  and  Wooler,  like  the  four  stones  in  Eadnor- 
shire."— J.  H.] 

Umfreville  and  Estoteville, 

The  Wyville,  and  the  Tancarville, 

All  cam  here  wi'  Norman  Will. 

A  traditional  rhyme  which  has  the  valuable  aid  of  history  to 
confirm  its  truth.  The  second  and  third  families  settled  in 
Yorkshire.  Robert  de  Estoteville,  or  Stuteville,  was  lord  of 
Knaresborough,  1556.  This  family  is  now  I  believe,  in  the 
male  line,  quite  extinct.  The  Wyvilles  remain  to  the  present 
day  a  highly  respectable  and  opulent  Yorkshire  family.  The 
Umfrevilles  (once  a  powerful  Northumbrian  family)  are  now 
lowered  to  an  equality  with  the  common  herd  of  mankind.  Mr. 
William  Umfreville,  keeper  of  St.  Nicholas  Workhouse,  New- 
castle-on-Tyne,  died  17th  November,  1789.  He  had  in  his 
possession  a  sword  which  belonged  to  Sir  Robert  de  Umfreville, 
Vice-Admiral  of  England,  about  the  time  of  Richard  II.  Mr. 
Umfreville  died  in  extreme  poverty,  leaving  a  widow  and  one 
son. 

It  is  highly  probable  that  the  identical  sword  possessed  by 
Mr.  Umfreville  was  that  with  which  the  first  Northumbrian 
ancestor  of  the  race  was  knighted  and  invested  by  his  kins- 
man William  the  Conqueror  to  hold  by  the  tenure  of  defending 
Redesdale  from  enemies  and  wolves.  Tradition  says  that  this 
was  the  sword  which  King  William  had  by  his  side  when  he 
crossed  the  Tyne.  "  Died  in  the  Friars,  Newcastle,  10th  June, 
1850,  aged  90,  Mr.  John  Umfraville,  shoemaker.  Deceased 
was  the  last  male  descendant  of  the  celebrated  Umfravilles  of 
the  county  of  Northumberland,  formerly  lords  of  Harbottle  and 
VrndoG.^^-^ Durham  Adv.  Newspaper . 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.     247 

Like  as  the  brand  doth  flame  and  burn, 
So  -we  from  death  to  life  should  turn. 

An  old  rhyme,  or  motto,  of  the  Brandling  family,  whose 
crest  is  an  oak  tree  in  flames— perhaps  a  Border  beacon — the 
name  first  occurring  on  the  Border  as  burgesses  of  Berwick  on 
Tweed.  This  family  had  been  seated  at  Gosforth,  near  New- 
castle, since  the  early  part  of  the  sixteenth  century. —  [From 
Sharp's  BisJioprick  Garland.~\ 

As  fat.se  as  the  Ha's,  on  the  false-hearted  Ha's  {i.e.  Halls). 

This  saying,  or  rather  characteristic  (peculiar  to  Redesdale), 
alludes  to  the  murder  of  Parcy  Reed  at  Batinghope  on  the 
River  Reed.  The  murder,  it  appears,  was  plotted  by  a  family 
of  brothers  of  the  name  of  Hall,  who,  under  the  mask  of 
friendship,  got  him  to  go  with  them  on  a  pretended  hunting 
expedition,  when  he  was  deserted  by  his  false  friends,  and 
murdered  by  a  band  of  Croziers,  with  whom  the  Halls  were  in 
league.  Tradition  informs  us  that  the  fragments  of  Reed's 
body  were  conveyed  to  his  residence  at  Troughend  in  linen 
bags.  The  name  of  Crozier  became  in  consequence  detested  in 
Redesdale,  and  their  abettors  were  driven  from  their  residence, 
and  the  appellation  "  the  fause-hearted  Ha's"  remains  in  force 
against  their  descendants  to  the  present  day.  See  Sir  Walter 
Scott's  Rokehy ;  Roxby's  Lay  of  the  Reedwater  Minstrel ;  Local 
Historians'  Table  Booh,  i-^Qg-  Div.,  vol.  ii.  pp.  361  to  3C9.  The 
ghost  of  Parcy  Reed  is  still  said  to  haunt  Pringle  Haugh  and 


the  neighbourhood. 


A  Tweedale 


A  Eedesdale  Eogue, 
A  Tindale  Thief, 
A  Weardale  Wolf, 
A  Teesdale  Tupe. 

I  have  an  imperfect  recollection  of  some  ancient  alliterative 


248  THE  DENHAM  TllACTS. 

verses,   in  character  somewhat  like  the  above,  which  I  Avritc 
down  from  memory,  but  dare  not  vouch  for  their  correctness. 

We  will  not  lose  a  Scot. 

That  is  anything,  however  inconsiderable,  which  we  can 
possibly  save  or  recover.  During  the  enmity  of  the  two  nations 
the  inhabitants  of  Northumberland  had  as  little  esteem  and 
affection  for  a  Scots  Borderer  as  the  Scottish  man  had  for  him. 
"  Hit  her  hard,  she's  a  Scot,"  is  another  old  Border  saying  still 
in  use.  It  means  give  it  her  well,  or  give  her  no  quarter,  as 
the  Scots  did  to  the  English. 

Elliots  a;<;d  Armstrongs  ride  Thieves  all  ! 

The  Armstrongs  appear  to  have  been  at  an  early  period  in 
possession  of  a  great  part  of  Liddesdale  and  of  the  Debateable 
Land.  Their  immediate  neighbourhood  to  England  rendered 
them  the  most  dangerous  of  the  Border  depredators,  and,  as 
much  of  the  country  possessed  by  them  was  claimed  by  both 
kingdoms,  the  inhabitants  protected  from  justice  by  one  nation 
in  opposition  to  the  other,  securely  preyed  upon  both.  The 
rapacity  of  this  clan  and  of  their  allies,  the  Elliots,  occasioned 
the  above  popular  saying.  (But  to  what  Border  family  of  any 
note  in  former  days  would  not  such  a  saying  be  equally 
applicable?)  All  along  the  River  Liddle,  or  Liddel,  may  still 
be  seen  the  ruins  of  towers  possessed  by  this  clan.  They  did 
not,  however,  entirely  trust  to  these  fastnesses;  but  when 
attacked  by  a  superior  force,  abandoned  entirely  their  dwellings 
and  retired  into  morasses,  accessible  by  paths  known  to  them- 
selves alone.  One  of  their  most  noted  places  of  refuge  was  the 
Tarras  Moss,  a  desolate  and  horrible  marsh,  through  which  a 
small  river  takes  its  course.  In  this  retreat  the  Armstrongs, 
AD.  1558,  baffled  the  Earl  of  Angus,  when  lieutenant  on  the 
Border,  although  he  accounted  himself  very  skilful  in  winding 
a  thief.     On  that  occasion,  however,  he  was  totally  unsuccess- 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.     249 

full,  and  nearly  lost  his  kinsman,  Douglas  of  Ively,  whom  the 
freebooters  made  prisoner.  The  kings  of  Scotland  disowned 
them  as  subjects. 

"  On  that  Border  was  the  Arnistrongs,  able  men, 
Somewhat  unruly  and  very  ill  to  tame. 
I  would  have  none  think  that  I  call  them  thieves, 
For,  if  I  did,  it  would  be  arrant  lies." 

Satchell's  History  of  the  Name  of  Scott. 

The  above  author  would  gladly  make  it  appear  that  a  reiver 
was  not  a  thief.     And  yet, 

"  They  sought  their  beeves  that  made  their  broth, 
In  Scotland  and  in  England  both." 

Scott's  Lay  of  the  Last  Minstrel. 

For  the  enterprises  of  the  Armstrongs  against  their  native 
country  when  under  English  assurance,  see  Murdin's  State 
Papers,  vol.  i,  p.  43.  From  these  it  appears  that  by  command 
of  Sir  Ralph  Evers,  this  clan  ravaged  almost  the  whole  of  the 
West  Border  of  Scotland. 

There  is  a  story  that  a  convicted  moss-trooper  of  the  clan 
Armstrong,  being  promised  his  pardon  on  condition  of  dis- 
closing the  best  safeguards  to  a  house  against  his  own  fraternity, 
gave  the  following  information  as  his  "  fee,"  viz.,  "  that  a  small 
but  vigilant  dog  within  the  house  and  rusty  locks  were  the 
greatest  impediments  to  the  housebreaker.^'  Chambers*  Pop. 
Rhy.  of  Scotland,  3rd  ed.,  p.  322.  The  above  piece  of  valuable 
information  is  thus  thrown  into  Scottish  rhyme:  — 

"  A  terricr-tyke,  and  a  rusty  key, 
Were  Johnie  Armstrong's  Jeddart  fee."* 

An   Armstrong,  who  had   his    residence  in  Cumberland,  was 

*  The  true  reading  is  : 

"  Yelping  terrier,,  rusty  key 
Was  Walter  Scott's  best  Jeddart  fee." 
See  Lockhart's  Life  of  Sir  Walter  Scott,  p.  60,  royal  8vo.  edit. 


250  THE  DENHAM  TBACTS. 

popularly  known  by  the  name  of  ''  Luck  in  the  Bag."  He,  like 
many  more  of  his  kith  and  kin,  was  a  celebrated  horse  stealer. 
On  the  Scottish  Border  the  following  saw  is  pretty  general : 
*'  Like  the  Elliots  of  Swinside,  water  them  well  and  they'll  need 
the  less  corn,"  i.e.,  give  them  plenty  to  drink  and  they'll  eat 
the  less  meat.  Swinside  is  a  small  hamlet  in  the  parish  of 
Oxnam,  Roxburghshire. 

Fuller,  in  his  Worthies  of  England,  p.  216,  says,  **  They  (the 
moss-troopers)  come  to  church  as  seldom  as  the  29th  of 
February  comes  into  the  kalendar."  He  also  gives  us  numerous 
other  particulars  anent  the  olden  race  of  Border  worthies. 
Lesley,  however,  tells  us  that  though  they  might  be  rather 
deficient  in  real  religion  they  regularly  told  their  beads,  and 
never  with  more  zeal  "  than  when  going  on  a  plundering 
expedition." 

The  Northern  Lion  o'er  the  Tweed 
The  Maiden  Queen  shall  next  succeed, 
And  join  in  one  two  mighty  states, 
Tlien  shall  Janus  shut  his  gates. 

This  rhyming  prophecy  relates  to  King  James  I.  (of  England), 
who  having  been  many  years  King  of  Scotland,  the  crown  of 
England  by  Queen  Elizabeth's  death  fell  to  him ;  whereupon 
he  came  over  the  Tweed  to  take  up  his  residence  here,  and  so 
joined  the  two  kingdoms  into  one  government.  Janus  (one  of 
the  heathen  gods)  had  a  temple  at  Rome,  the  gates  of  which 
were  never  shut  but  in  a  time  of  profound  peace,  alluding  to 
which  custom  is  hereby  made  known  the  peaceful  reign  of  King 
James. 

LoED   Derwentwater's  Lights. 

James  Ratcliffe,  third  and  last  Earl  of  Derwentwater,  was 
born  in  the  year  1689.  Of  all  the  victims  who  fell  a  sacrifice  to 
the  rash  enterprise  of  1715,  none  fell  more  lamented  than  the 


POPULAR  EHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.      251 

young  and  generous  Earl  of  Derwentwater ;  and  his  memory 
will  long  continue  to  be  revered  in  tlie  sister  counties  of  Durham 
and  Northumberland,  where  numerous  instances  of  his  affability 
and  beneficence  are  still  related  with  the  deepest  feelings  of 
heartfelt  sympathy  and  regret.  He,  along  with  the  principal 
leaders^  was  beheaded  on  Tower  Hill,  24th  February,  1716. 
No  coffin  being  prepared,  his  head  was  wrapped  in  a  napkin 
and  his  body  rolled  in  a  cloak,  and  carried  by  a  servant  to  the 
Tower.  His  remains  finally,  by  secret  means,  found  their 
resting  place  in  the  family  burial  place  at  Dilston.  Many 
wonderftd  and  miraculous  circumstances  are  popularly  believed 
to  have  attended  his  death.  In  particular  the  Aurora  Borealis, 
which  darted  forth  with  remarkable  brilliancy  on  the  night  of 
his  execution,  is  still  known  in  the  North  of  England  by  the 
name  of  Lord  Derwentwater's  Lights  ;  and  so  extreme  was  its 
vividness  that  some  of  his  most  zealous  "  partizans  imagined 
they  saw  in  this  novel  appearance  men  without  heads." — 
Surtees'  Hist,  of  Durham,  i.  xvi.  cxx.  "  The  ignorant  peasantry 
were  not  slow  to  receive  the  superstitious  stories  that  were  pro- 
pagated on  the  occasion  of  the  earl's  death,  and  often  has  the 
rustic,  beside  the  winter's  hearth,  listened  to  the  fearful  tale  of 
how  the  spouts  of  Dilston  Hall  ran  blood,  and  the  very  corn 
which  was  being  ground  came  from  the  mill  with  a  sanguine 
hue  on  the  day  the  earl  was  beheaded."  * 

*  There  is  an  account  of  this  Aurora  in  Horsley's  Northumberland, 
p.  21.  They  are  thus  alluded  to  in  ColKns's  Ode  on  the  Superstitions 
of  the  Highlanders,  whence  it  appears  that  the  belief  in  their  being 
a  portent  of  a  national  calamity  was  not  peculiar  to  Northum- 
berland : —  ^ 

'•  As  Boreas  threw  his  young  Aurora  forth, 
In  the  first  year  of  the  first  George's  reign. 
And  battles  raged  in  welkin  of  the  North, 

They  mourn'd  in  air,  fell,  fell  rebellion  slain." — J.H. 


252  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

The  Northern  Lights,  when  first  seen,  were  also  called  Merry- 
Dancers  and  Burning  Spears ;  and  to  persons  of  imaginative 
or  superstitious  mind  they  still  convey  the  idea  of  clashing  of 
arms  in  a  military  fray. 

RoDDAM  Rhymes,  etc. 

While  sheep  bear  wool, 

And  cows  grow  hair. 
A  Roddam  of  Roddam 

For  ever  mair. 

The  Roddams  are  a  very  ancient  British  family,  and  upon 
one  of  their  old  pedigrees  is  written  the  following  grant  in 
Saxon  characters : — 

I,  King  Athelstan,  gives  unto  thee,  Pole  Roddam, 

From  me  and  mine,  to  thee  and  thine, 

Before  my  wife  Maude,  my  daughter  Maudlin,  and  my  son  Henry. 

And  for  a  certain  truth, 

I  bite  this  wax  with  my  gang  tooth. 

So  long  as  muir  bears  moss  and  cnout  grows  hair, 

A  Roddam  of  Roddam  for  ever  mair. 

Again  we  have  the  following  concession,  "  ad  paulum  Roydon," 
evidently  a  corruption  of  Boddam,  also  equally  genuine,  no 
doubt : — 

I,  William,  King,  the  third  yere  of  my  reign, 

Give  to  the  Paulyn  Roydon  Hope  and  Hope-towne, 

With  all  the  bounds  both  up  and  down 

From  Heaven  to  Yerth,  fro  Yerthe  to  Hel, 

For  thee  and  thyn  there  to  dAvell, 

As  truly  as  this  King  right  is  myn. 

For  a  cross  bow  and  arrowe. 

When  I  sal  come  to  hunt  on  Yarrow. 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.     253 

And  in  token  that  this  thing  is  sooth, 
I  bite  the  wax  with  my  tooth, 
Before  Meg,  Maud,  and  Margery, 
And  my  third  sonne  Henery.* 

This  method  of  impressing  the  wax  of  the  seal  with  the 
wang  or  gang  tooth,  is  mentioned  by  Verstegan  in  his  Restitution 
of  Decayed  Intelligence,  ed.  1605,  p.  223. 

In  1387,  the  Earls  of  Fife  and  Douglas,  with  Lord  Galloway, 
passed  the  water  of  Solway,  and  surprised  Cockermouth,  which 
they  plundered  and  returned  to  Scotland  unmolested,  through 
Westmoreland  and  Northumberland.  Amongst  other  writings 
found  by  the  Scots,  whilst  rifling  the  houses  in  the  latter  county, 
in  their  expedition,  was  a  third  specimen  of  the  art  of  con- 
veyancing in  the  twelfth  century,  which,  in  equally  artless  and 
simple  rhymes,  ran  : — 

I,  King  Athelstan,  gives  to  Pallan 

Ocham  and  Eodcham, 

Als  guid  and  als  fayre 

As  ever  they  myn  weare, 

And  yarto  witness  Maulde  my  wife. 

[*  Tlie  original  of  this  appears  to  be  a  supposed  grant  of 
William  the  Conqueror  to  **  the  Norman  Hunter,"  to  be  found  in 
Stow's  Chronicle  by  Howes,  p.  Ill,  from  the  authority  of  a  chronicle 
"  in  the  Library  at  Eichmont,"  as  follows  :^ 

"  I,  William,  King,  the  third  yeare  of  my  raigne, 
Giue  to  the  Norman  Hunter,  to  me  that  art  both  life  and  deerc, 
The  Hop  and  the  Hopton,  ?,nd  all  the  bounds  vp  and  downe, 
Vnder  the  earth  to  hell,  aboue  the  earth  to  heauen, 
From  me  and  from  mine,  to  thee  and  to  thine, 
As  good  and  as  f»lre,  as  euer  they  mine  were. 
To  witnesse  that  this  is  sooth,   I  bite  the  white  waxe  with  my 

tooth, 
Before  Jugge,  Mawd,  and  Margery,  and  my  yongest  sonne  Henry, 
For  one  bow  and  broad  arrow,   when  I  come  to   hunt   vpon 
Yarrow."— J.  H.] 


254  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

The  version  in  Forduni  ScoticJironicon,  ii.  p.  403  (Goodal's 
edition),  is — 

I,  Kyng  Adelstane, 

Giifys  here  to  Paulan, 

Oddam  and  Eoddam 

Als  gude  and  als  fair, 

As  evir  thai  myn  war ; 

And  tharto  witnes  Maid  my  wyf. 

[In  Boethius  {Scotorum  Histories,  Parisiis,  1575,  fol.  311), 
the  diploma  is  given  thus  :  "  I,  Kyng  Adelstan,  gevis  heir  to 
Paulan,  Odden  and  Rodden,  als  guyde  and  als  fair  as  euir  yai 
mine  wayr,  and  yarto  witness  Malde  my  wiiffe."  Eobert. 
regent  of  Scotland,  commended  its  brevity,  which  contrasted 
favourably  with  the  verbiage  and  circumlocution  customary  in 
deeds  even  of  his  period. — J.  H.] 


Quis  fuit  Alcydes  ?  quis  Cajsar  Julius  ?  aut  quis 
Magnus  Alexander  ?     Alcydes  se  superasse 
Fertur.     Alexander  mundum,  sed  Julius  hostem  ; 
Se  simul  Oswaldus,  et  mundum  vicit  et  hostem. 

Camden  gives  the  above  ancient  Latin  distich  on  Oswald,  King 
of  Northumberland,  the  glory  of  whose  arms  were  not  more 
eminent  than  the  fame  of  his  wisdom.  His  lenity  and  benevo- 
lence were  proverbial ;  the  neighbouring  nations  regarded  him 
with  reverence,  and  his  people  obeyed  him  with  love. 

Translation : — 

Who  was  Alcydes  ?     Alexander  who  ? 
Or  Julius  Caisar  ?     Let  the  first  subdue 
Himself", — the  next  the  world,  the  last  the  foe  ; 
Oswald  subdued  himself — the  world — the  foe. 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATINa  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.       255 


Prophecy. 

Atween  Craig-cross  and  Eildon  Tree. 

A  bonny  bairn  there  is  to  be, 

That'll  neither  have  hands  to  feight,  nor  feet  to  flee  ; 

To  be  born  in  England,  brought  up  in  Scotland, 

And  to  gang  hame  to  England  again  to  dee. 

This  Border  prophecy  has  been  popular  in  the  south  of 
Scotland  from  time  immemorial.  It  is  usually  ascribed  to 
Alexander  Peden,  the  Cameronian  seer,  but  in  reality  is 
believed  to  be  of  much  greater  antiquity.  Be  the  author  who 
he  may,  the  propliecy  came  true  in  modern  days. 

About  the  middle  of  the  last  century  a  boy  was  born  without 
hands  or  feet  at  Ballen  Mill,  near  Falstone.  His  name  was 
Paterson.  Soon  after  his  birth  he  was  removed  to  Falnash 
Mill,  near  the  head  of  the  River  Teviot,  about  eight  miles 
above  Hawick.  Here  he  was  brought  up.  While  yet  a  child 
he  was  taken  back  to  England  with  the  rest  of  the  family,  and 
died  at  Carlisle,  aged  seven  years,  thus  completely  fulfilling 
every  particular  of  the  prediction,  and  thereby  confirming  all 
the  people  who  knew  the  circumstances  in  a  belief  of 
Mr.  Peden's  prophetic  powers.  Chambers'  Edinburgh  Journal^ 
No.  61.     [Richardson's  Table-Book,  Leg.  Div.  ii.  p.  244.] 

Agnus  nok  pardus  ja.cet  hic:  Prior  ecce  Rioardus. 
In  English  thus : — 

A  Lanrb  not  a  Leopard  lies  here, 
Behold  it  is  Richard  the  Prior. 

The  epitaph  of  Richard,  prior  of  Lindisfarne.  He  was 
appointed  in  1272,  and  appears  to  have  died  in  1285. 


256  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 


Live  ITawks  for  dead  IJEr.oxs, 

Sir  George  Heron,  of  Chipchase  and  Ford,  had  the  misfor- 
tune to  be  slain  in  the  skirmish  of  the  Raid  of  tlie  Redeswire,  to 
the  great  regret  of  both  parties,  being  a  man  greatly  respected 
by  our  Scottish  neighbours  as  well  as  the  English.  When  the 
English  prisoners  M'ere  brought  to  Morton,  at  Dalkeith,  and 
among  other  presents  received  from  him  were  some  Scottish 
falcons,  one  of  his  train  observed  that  the  English  were  most 
nobly  treated,  since  they  got  "  live  hawks  for  dead  herons." — 
Godscroft. 

Had  not  jMorton  the  old  proverb  in  his  mind,  "  He  doesn't 
ken  a  hawk  fra  a  heron,"  when  he  made  this  offering  to  the 
English  prisoners?  Other  readings  of  this  saw  give  Herousew 
and  Heronshaw,  all  of  which  have  got  vilely  corrupted  into 
"  Handsaw ! " 


Nicholas  Ridley,  the  Broad  Kkight. 

The  above  portly  gentleman  was  of  the  family  of  Willimotes- 
wick,  in  the  township  of  Ridley,  and  parish  of  Haltvvhlstle. 
According  to  Flower's  Visitation  of  Northumherland,  1575,  he 
was  married  to  Mary,  the  daughter  or  niece  of  Thomas 
Musgrave,  by  Joane  Stapleton,  and  is  said  to  have  been  the 
elder  brother  of  Christopher  Ridley,  father  of  the  Bishop  of 
London. 

TllEUE  NEVER  WAS  A  OOOD  GrEY  WITH  AN  E  IN  HIS  NAME. 

Many  families  who  bear  this  name  spelt  it  Gray.  The  Greys 
are  characterised  as  a  greedy  race,  and,  according  to  the  vulgar 
creed,  a  greedy  person  cannot  possibly  be  a  good  one. 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  KORTHUMBERLAKD.     257 

The  Scaling  Laddeii  Greys. 

Thomas  de  Grey,  from  1319  to  1331,  held  the  important  post 
of  governor  of  Xorham  Castle.  By  all  he  was  considered  wise 
in  council,  and  brave  in  the  field  ;  being  no  less  than  twice  left 
for  dead  upon  the  field  of  battle.  Of  him  we  find  it  written  : — 
"  That  there  never  was  such  a  man  for  cutting  his  way  through 
the  midst  of  an  enemy."  He  was  at  the  battle  of  Roslin  in 
1302 ;  at  the  siege  of  Stirling  in  1304  ;  at  the  battle  of 
Bannockburn  1314,  where  he  was  made  prisoner.  From  the 
gallant  martial  exploits  of  this  famed  warrior  is  obtained  the 
scaling-ladder,  the  crest  of  the  noble  family  of  Grey  of  Howick. 
The  term  is  used  simply  in  order  to  distinguish  the  Howick  from 
the  other  Northumbrian  families  of  the  same  name.  E.  W., 
the  author  of  Cheviot,  a  poetical  fragment,  thus  notices  the  tomb 
of  Sir  Ealph  Grey  (1406-1443)  in  Chillingham  Church. 

Grey  lies  another  Mars  at  Chillingham, 
With  scaling-ladders  and  a  battering  ram. 

FOY   EST    TOUS ! 

Sir  John  Babington,  of  the  Harnham  family,  acquired  the 
crest  and  motto  of  his  coat  armour  by  a  desperate  service  under 
King  Henry  IV.  in  France.  On  his  own  petition  he  was  one 
of  the  six  young  knights  sent  on  this  duty  ;  and  on  leaving  the 
royal  presence  he  brandished  his  sword  and  exclaimed,  "  Foy 
est  tons  !  "  Their  crest  is  a  dragon's  head,  with  the  above 
words  proceeding  from  its  mouth. 

Lee  Ha's  to  Edinburgh  hinney 
Lee  Ha's  *o  Edinburgh  gane  ; 
Lee  Ha's  to  Edinburgh  hinney, 
To  fetch  robber  Will  o'  the  Kame. 

Tradition  says  that  a  younger  member  of  the  Lee  Hall  family 


258  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

resided  at  the  Comb  (Kame  of  the  rhymes)  and  had  got 
incarcerated  for  want  of  a  clear  perception  of  the  difference 
between  meum  and  tuum  ;  and  that  the  chief  of  the  clans  made 
a  journey  to  Edinburgh  to  help  him  out  of  his  difficulties. 
This  might  almost  be  inferred  from  the  stanza  above  given, 
and  it  derives  confirmation  from  the  fact  of  the  Comb  having 
remained  in  possession  of  the  Charltons  of  Lee  Hall  to  the 
present  time  (1854). 

Lowes  and  Leehall. 

There  was,  perhaps  still  is,  a  ballad  called  Lowes  atid  Leehall, 
which  relates  to  a  feud  betwixt  these  two  country  keepers ;  in 
the  reign  of  Queen  Anne.  The  former  was  the  keeper  of  South 
Tyne,  the  latter  of  North  Tyne.  The  particulars  of  this  quarrel 
are  to  be  met  with  in  Richardson's  Table-Book^  under  the 
head  of  Frank  Stokoe,  a  notorious  freebooter.  If  it  still  exists 
in  any  of  the  dales  of  Northumberland,  "  pity  "  it  were  such 
particulars  should  be  lost.  The  following  stanza  is  supposed 
to  belong  to  this  ballad  : — 

Leeha's  to  Edinborougli  Willie, 
Leeha's  to  Edinborough  gane  ; 
Leeha's  to  Edinborongli  Willie, 
To  catch  rogue  Will  o'  th'  Kamc. 

and  if  so,  it  has  a  birr  about  it,  much  like  the  opening  of  a 
northern  pibroch. 

He  rides  like  a  Bambroughshire  Laird. 

That  is,  with  one  spur,  and  a  stick  or  whip  in  his  opposite 
hand.  Laird  is  a  name  given  in  Northumberland  to  a  proj^rietor 
of  lands,  without  any  relation  to  manorial  rights.     This  proverb 


POPULAR  EHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.      259 

will  remind  the  reader  of  the  boastful  rhymes  of  the  Men  of 
Kent  :— 

1.  A  knight  of  Gales,  a  squire  of  Wales, 
A  laird  of  the  North  Countree  ; 
A  Yeoman  of  Kent,  with  his  yearly  rent, 
"Will  buy  them  out  all  three. 

2.  English  laird,  German  Count,  and  French  marqui, 
A  Yeoman  of  Kent  is  worth  them  all  three. 


The  Chief  of  Beaufront. 

The  villa  of  Beaufront  a  little  to  the  south-west  of  the  village 
of  Sandhoe,  in  the  parish  of  St.  John  Lee,  was  long  the  property 
and  residence  of  the  late  John  Errington,  Esq.,  who  died  in 
1818.  Mr.  Errington  was  remarkable  for  his  eccentricities, 
hospitalities,  and  charity ;  and  was  facetiously  called  ])y  the 
country  people,  the  Chief  of  Beaufront.  [In  Horsley's  time 
Beaufront  was  corruptly  called  "  Beevram."  "  It  has,"  he 
says,  "  a  pleasant  situation,  and  a  beautiful  front,  and  deserves 
the  name  it  bears  of  Beaufront."] 

Byker  Hill  and  Walker  Shore, 
Collier  lads  for  evermore. 

I  suppose  that  this  distich  insinuates  that  the  principal 
portion  of  the  male  inhabitants  of  these  two  places,  have  been, 
are,  and  evermore  will  be,  nothing  more  than  collier  lads. 

To  LEAP  THE  Well. 

On  St.  Mark's  Day,  a^irants  to  the  freedom  of  the  borough 
of  Alnwick  used  to  proceed,  in  great  state  and  in  equal  spirits, 
from  the  town  to  the  moor,  where  they  drew  up  in  a  body  at 
some    distance    from  a  water    [through  which   they  had  to 

s2 


260  THE  DENHAM  TEACTS. 

plunge]  ;  and  on  arrival  at  the  spot,  and  a  signal  being  given, 
they  scrambled  with  great  difficulty  through  the  deep  and 
noisome  pit,  or  pool,  which  was  filled  with  mud.  It  was  about 
GO  feet  in  length.  [This  quagmire  was  dammed  up  fur  the  purpose 
two  or  three  days  before].*  Tradition  says,  that  this  strange, 
ridiculous  and  filthy  custom  (rendered  more  ridiculous  by  being 
performed  in  white  clothing)  was  imposed  by  King  John^  who 
was  bogged  in  this  very  pool  while  hunting.  It  is  very  pro- 
bable that  the  ceremony  might  originate  with  this  king,  but  it 
is  certain  that  the  burgesses  were  incorporated  long  before  his 
reign. 

Neck  or  Nought,  as  Johnny  Wardle  said. 

It  is  to  be  understood  that  the  aspirants  to  civic  honours  had 
had  their  filthy  dip,  and  were  in  full  career  back  to  canny 
Alnwick.  ^'  From  '  Tom  Shadford's  monument,'  nearly  the 
highest  ground  in  the  l\Ioor,  there  is  a  continual  declivity  to  the 
Moor  Burn  ;  yet  down  this  steep  the  freemen  ride  furiously, 
here  among  bogs  and  heather,  there  through  whin-bushes, 
sometimes  among  quarries,  at  others  near  to  sand-pits.  The 
danger  is  considerable,  especially  to  unpractised  riders.  Pro- 
vidence must  surely  watch  over  the  young  freemen  as  carefully 
as  he  does  over  children,  for  no  fatal  accident  has  ever  thrown 
a  dark  shade  over  the  proceedings  of  the  day.  Often,  it  is  true, 
severe  falls  occur,  six  horses  and  their  riders  were  on  one 
occasion,  stretched  at  a  short  distance  from  each  other  on  the 
bare  craggs,  or  plunged  into  the  bogs  of  the  '  Horse  Close.' 
One  reckless,  boasting  freeman,  has  immortalised  himself  by 
giving  birth  to  a  proverb :  '  Neck  or  nought,  as  Johnny  Wardle 
said,'  is  applied  to  any  des])erate  undertaking  ;    for  Johnny, 

*  Mark's  Survey  of  Northumlerland,  1734,  p.  84,  Printed  by  Mr. 
Hodgson-Hinde. 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.     261 

mounted  on  a  blood-horse,  after  clearing  the  '  Freeman's  Gap,' 
was  galloping  heedlessly  down  the  hill,  and  repeatedly  crying 
out,  '  neck  or  nought,  neck  or  nought,'  when  lo !  horse  and 
rider  dashed  over  into  '  Paul's-rest  Quarry,^  where,  though  he 
escaped  with  life,  the  horse's  neck  was  broken."  Mr.  George 
Tate,  Provincial  Souvenir  and  Eastern  Border  Annual  for  1846, 
p.  169.— [Comm.  by  J.  H.] 

A  HowDEN-PAN  Cant. 
That  is,  an  awkward  fall  or  overturn. 

A  HowDEN-PAN  Canter. 

Howden-pan,  a  popular  village  five  miles  east-by-north  of 
Newcastle.  It  appears  that  the  residents  in  this  district  were  at 
one  period,  and  that  too  not  far  distant,  not  very  celebrated 
for  their  equestrianship. 

The  Wise  Folks  o'  Lokbottle. 

The  following  anecdote  would  lead  one  to  suppose  that  the 
good  folks  of  Lorbottle,  a  small  hamlet  near  Rothbury,  held 
ideas  very  different  from  those  of  the  ancients  respecting  the 
causes  of  the  seasons.  In  the  wittenagemote  of  that  com- 
munity it  was  agreed  that  the  cuckoo  brought  on  the  pleasant 
time  of  summer,  and  that  if  she  could  be  secured  within  a  pin- 
fold the  storms  of  winter  might  threaten,  and  snell  Boreas 
bluster  and  howl  without,  yet  the  bland  zephyr's  wing  would 
ever  fan  the  fresh  young  foliage  in  the  groves  of  Lorbottle. 
One  particular  plantation  to  which  she  was  accustomed  most  to 
repair,  it  was  determined,  in  the  resolutions  of  the  simple 
villagers,  to  environ  with  a  wall,  so  as  to  render  her  stay 
perpetual,  and  give  her  unquiet  footsteps  rest.     The  wall  was 


262  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

reared  in  haste  and  anxiety ;  but  alas  !  the  vanity  of  earthly 
hopes,  just  as  the  wall  was  finished  and  a  home  prepared  the 
ungrateful  and  capricious  bird  flew  quietly  over  the  top,  and 
thus  perished  the  fond  hope  of  Lorbotte  being  blessed  with  a 
never-ending  summer. 

It  is,  however,  a  cherished  opinion  among  the  ancients  of  the 
place,  that  if  the  wall  had  only  been  raised  a  little  higher  the 
darling  project  would  have  been  achieved,  and  Lorbottle  would 
have  become  a  paradise  on  earth.  [This  is  taken  from  my 
paper  in  llichardson's  Table-Book,  Leg.  Div.,  iii.,  pp.  94,  95. 
See  also  Folk-Lore  Record,  ii.,  p.  65.] 

The  Keaves  o'  Lorbottle  (i.  e.  Coves  op  Lorbottle). 

[The  natives  of  this  district  are  proverbial  for  their  big,  shape- 
less feet,  out-heels  [laverock-heels],  and  turned-in  toes. — 
J.  H.] 

Like  the  Laird  o'  Butterburn. 

Ye're  like  the  Laird  o'  Butterburn — whatever  is,  is  right. 

— Old  Northumberland  Saying. 

The  Laird  of  Butterburn,  unlike  a  great  many  country  lairds, 
some  eighty  or  ninety  years  ago,  was  a  great  reader  and  quoter 
of  Pope,  to  the  no  small  annoyance  of  his  fellow  lairds,  who, 
happy  in  their  own  ignorance,  were  content  to  get  drunk  six 
times  a  week,  without  being  bored  to  death  with  things  so  much 
out  of  their  road.  It  happened,  however,  that  on  a  certain 
market  night,  as  the  laird  himself  was  returning  home,  like 
Hobbie  Elliot's  father,  ''  wi'  the  maut  a  wee  aboun  the  meal," 
he  by  some  means  tumbled  from  his  horse  into  a  deep  ditch 
nearly  full  of  water.  The  cries  of  the  poor  laird  for  help  at  last 
attracted  one  of  his  neighbours,  who  was  returning  home  in 
ynuch  the  same  situation.    "  Halloo  !  what's  up  now  ?  "  hiccuped 


POrULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.     2tj3 

out  the  neighbour.  "  Oh  !  lend  me  a  hand,  and  help  me  out !  " 
cried  poor  Butterburn.  "  Oh,  no  ! "  replied  his  heedless 
acquaintance,  turning  away  his  horse's  head,  *'  tumble  away— = 
whatever  is,  is  right !  " 


Prophecy. 

In  Pinkey's  Cletigh  a  battle  shall  be  fought,  and  a  -widow's  son,  with 
two  thumbs  on  his  right  hand,  shall  hold  the  king's  horse,  until 
England  is  twice  lost  and  thrice  won. 

The  above,  with  some  other  choice  morceaux  of  like  character, 
which  appear  in  the  present  volume,  was  in  the  most  kindly 
manner  handed  to  me  by  a  valued  correspondent ;  and,  although 
he  designates  it  as  a  ridiculous  fable,  yet  he  says,  "  I  can  assure 
you  it  is  firmly  believed  in  by  a  great  many  in  that  part  of  the 
county.  A  good  many  years  ago  a  child  was  born  in  that 
neighbourhood  with  two  thumbs  on  his  right  hand,  and  is  still 
living.  I  have  frequently  seen  him ;  his  name  is  Nixon.  On 
this  occurrence  taking  place,  the  whole  of  the  population  of  the 
district  felt  assured  that  the  prophecy  was  on  the  eve  of  fulfil- 
ment; but,"  he  quaintly  observes  in  conclusion,  '^  it  has  not  yet 
taken  place."  See  a  similar  prophecy,  Chambers's  Pop.  Rhymes^ 
Scot,  3rd  ed.,  15, 16. 

Pinkey's  Cleugh  is  about  six  miles  west  of  Haltwhistle,  not 
far  from  Hartley  Burn. 

[Pinken  Cluch  is  the  old  name  of  the  battle  of  Pinkie,  in  the 
prophecies  of  Thomas  the  Rymer : 

At  Pinken  Cinch  there  shall  be  spilt 
Much  gentle  blood  that  day. 

There  are  a  variety  of  prophecies  about  this  "  three-thoomit 
wicht "  ascribed  to  ''  True  Thomas,"— J.  H.] 


264  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 


As    BOLD    AS    THE    LaIRD    o'    WhINETLEY. 

This  saying,  which  is  common  in  tlie  wliole  district  of  South 
Tyne,  originated  in  1715.  It  appears  that  Manghan,  the  then 
owner  and  occupier  of  WhinetJey,  a  farmstead  (near  Haydon 
Bridge)  in  the  parish  of  Warden,  had  joined  the  rebels  under 
the  command  of  the  unfortunate  Earl  of  Derwentwater,  and 
after  the  surrender  of  the  Jacobite  party  at  Preston  contrived  to 
make  good  his  escape.  On  the  second  day  after  his  return  homo 
two  armed  men  entered  his  house  and  told  him  he  was  their 
prisoner.  "  Never !  "  exclaimed  the  laird,  "  while  a  drop  of 
blood  warms  my  body !  "  then  seizing  the  huge  kitchen  poker 
he  felled  them  both  upon  the  floor.  He  then  immediately 
saddled  his  horse  and  galloping  off  succeeded  in  making  his 
escape  into  France.  The  estate  of  Whinetley  is  still  in  the 
possession  of  his  descendants. 


By  my  Faith,  but  ye're  welcome,  quoth  Dicky  o' 

KiNGSWOOD. 

Dicky  of  Kingswood,  or  Cunning  Dick,  as  he  was  more 
generally  called  (who  lived  in  Staward  Peel),  was  a  noted 
Northumbrian  reiver,  and  entertained  an  opinion  that  takirig 
life  was  unnecessary  iii' plundering,  except  to  those  unacquainted 
with  their  art.  Many  tales  are  told  of  Dick's  prowess  in  this 
department.  The  following  exploit  gave  birth  to  the  above 
saying.  Happening  one  evening  to  call  at  a  country  inn,  he 
found  a  number  of  farmers  enjoying  themselves  over  their  cups. 
Their  horses,  a  dozen  in  number,  were  in  the  stable  at  the  back 
part  of  the  house ;  this  Dicky  had  previously  ascertained,  and 
he  placed  his  own  brood  mare  along  with  them.  After  con- 
tinuing some  short  time  at  the  inn  he  mounted  his  own  grey 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.    265 

mare,  Meggy,  left  tlie  stable  door  open,  and  had  not  proceeded 
far  on  his  homeward  journey  ere  he  discovered  the  whole  of  the 
horses  in  full  gallop  after  him — "  By  my  faith,  but  ye're  welcome," 
cried  Dicky — and  the  lucky  thief  got  off  clear  with  his  booty. 

To  make  the  story  more  clear,  it  may  be  necessary  to  note 
that  the  farmers'  horses  were  what  in  common  parlance  we  term 
stallions,  and  this  happening  in  the  "  spring  time  of  the  year," 
there  was  small  need  of  a  helping  hand  to  unloose  them. 

For  further  exploits  performed  by  this  individual,  see  Local 
Hist.  Tab.  Booh,  Leg.  Div.  ii.,  pp.  17,  18,  19. 

[From  the  style,  this  and  the  preceding  appear  to  be  con- 
tributed by  William  Pattison,  formerly  of  Bishopwearmouth 
and  Wolsingham. — J.  H.] 


Here  lietli  Martin  Elphinston, 
Who  with  his  sword  did  cut  in  sun- 
•  der  the  daughter  of  Sir  Harry  Crispe, 

who  did  his  daughter  marry. 
She  was  fat  and  fulsome, 
But  men  will  some- 
times eat  the  bacon  with  the  bean, 
And  love  the  fat  as  well  as  the  lean. 

An  epitaph  said  to  be  at  Alnwick,  but  I  could  never  see  or 
hear  tell  of  it. 

He's  driving  his  swine  to  Mokpeth  Market. 

Spoken  of  a  person  who  is  not  only  enjoying  a  nap,  but  a 
hearty  good  snore  to  boot. 

Bright  Star  op  Heaton. 
This  well-favoured    epithet   was    used    when    speaking    of 


266  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

Matthew  Ridley,  of  Heaton,  Esq.  He  died  in  the  year  1778, 
aged  66  years,  and  has  a  monument  to  his  memory  in  the 
church  of  St.  Nicholas,  Newcastle-upon-Tyne.  Heaton  Hall,  in 
the  parish  of  All  Saints,  is  the  mansion  of  the  Ridley  family. 

Bright  star  of  Heaton, 
You're  aye  oiir  darling  sweet  one ; 
May  heaven's  blessing  light  on 
Your  lady,  bairns,  and  you. 

Local  Song. 

The  Ridley  family  have  long  held  a  prominent  position  in  the 
favour  of  the  good  men  of  Newcastle  ;  high,  low,  rich,  and  poor 
all  speak  in  their  praise.  Sir  Matthew  Ridley,  baronet,  grandson 
of  the  above  patriotic  gentlemen,  was  popularly  called  "canny  Sir 
]\Iatthev»',"  and  the  never-ceasing  prayer  of  Blind  Willie,  the 
Newcastle  minstrel,  was  "Sir  MafFa !  Sir  MafFa!  canny  Sir 
Maifa!^^  "God  bless  Sir  Maffa!"  "Bra  Sir  MaflPa"  was 
another  of  Willie's  frequently  occurring  forms  or  casts  ^of 
language.  The  designation  of  "  Bright  Star,"  &c.,  was  also 
given  to  Sir  Matthew,  grandfather  of  the  late  baronet,  and  I 
have  been  told  by  a  gentleman  still  living  that  he  had  seen  a 
fishwoman  take  up  her  apron,  rub  her  mouth,  get  him  in  her 
arms,  and  kiss  him.     He  was  a  gay,  open-hearted,  kind  man. 


There's  three  bonny  laddies  live  at  the  Cra'  ha', 
There's  Mickey,  and  Mattey,  an'  Tomniy  an  a' ; 
Its  weary  shearing  at  the  Cra'  ha'. 
The  days  are  sae  lang,  an'  the  wages  sae  sma'. 

A  correspondent  informs  me  that  this  rhyme  is  peculiar  to 
Crawhall,  in  the  parish  of  Haltwhistle.  I  find  that  in  the  reign 
of  Edward  VI.  this  sirname  was  spelt  Crawhaughe,  and  it  is  so 
pronounced  to  this  day  throughout  the  county. 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.     267 

Jimmy  the  Moudy 
Maad  a  great  crowdy. 
Barny  0'  Neal, 
Fand  all  the  meal : 
Oad  Jack  Rutter 
Sent  twee  steane  o'  butter  : 
The  laird  o'  the  Hot 
Boild  it  in  his  pot  : 
And  Big  Tom  o'  the  Ho', 
He  supped  it  o'. 

Deil  tak  his  guts,  and  that  o' ! 

This  rude  specimen  of  border  versification  is  said  to  allude  to 
a  choice  few  of  the  old  lairds  and  landlords  of  Haltwhistle,  who, 
in  their  day  and  generation,  were  famous  not  only  for  their  good 
eating,  but  also  for  their  good  drinking. 

When  Mr.  Hutton,  the  historian  (of  Birmingham  and  Derby), 
was  in  Cumberland  in  1801,  he  stopped  one  night  at  a  wayside 
inn,  known  by  the  name  of  Twice  Brewed,  where  he  says  he 
saw  a  pudding  turned  out  of  the  pot  about  the  size  of  a  "  peck 
measure,  and  a  piece  of  beef  out  of  the  copper,  perhaps,  equal  to 
half  a  calf."  This  was  for  the  supper  of  some  fifteen  carriers ; 
and  the  provision  proved  none  too  large. 

The  Morpeth  Butoheks'  Welcome. 

A  story  is  told  of  a  batch  of  these  worthies  who,  after  having 
dined  on  beefsteaks  almost  to  repletion,  invited  a  bystander  to 
sit  down  to  the  residue,  saying:  "You're  vary  welcome,  sae  eat 
your  full ;  there's  mair  nor  we  can  eat." 

[Perhaps  "  the  Morpeth  compliment"  of  James  Service.] 

A    DUNSTANBOKOUGH    DiAMOND. 

A  name  popularly  given  to  the  crystals  occasionally  found 


268  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

near  Dunstanborough  Castle,  on  the   coast,  and  applied  pro- 
verbially to  young  damsels  in  that  locality. 

The  Gowks  o'  Davy-Shikld. 

Davy-Shield,  a  district  to  the  north  of  Otterbourne.  Robert 
Roxby,  the  Reedwater  Minstrel,  has 

Nor  shall  he  pass  the  Seven  Oaks, 

The  Hawk-gill  and  the  Howks, 
The  Swine-hole  fam'd  for  "  ruthless  pikes," 

And  Davy  Shiel  for  gowks. 

[The  cuckoo  is  intended. — J.  H.] 

The  auld  wives  o'  the  Lee, 
They  canna  weel  see. 
They  tak  up  the  bed  clothes 
And  [lie]  in  the  stree. 

Spoken  of  the  good  wives  of  St.  John  Lee,  a  parish  in  the 
liberty  of  Hexhamshire.  The  second  word  in  the  last  line  is 
generally  spoken  variously. 

Let  us  dearly  them  hold  to  mynde  their  worthynesse 
That  which  our  parents  old  hath  left  us  to  possesse. 

The  above  verses  are  given  over  the  arms  of  the  ancient 
family  of  Forster  of  Etherstone,  now  Adderstone,  in  the  parish 
of  Bambrough.  Vide  Visitation  of  JS^orihumherland,  1575.  A 
version  of  this  rhyme  occurs  on  an  old  house  at  Alnwick. 

To    RIDE    WITHERSHINS    ROUND    KeELDAR    StONE. 

V.  ''  Has  ridden,"  &c. 

The  "  Gout  of  Keeldar  "  was  a  powerful  chief  in  the  district 
wherein  the  Keildar  Castle  is  situated  adjacent  to  Cumberland. 
He  was  the  redoubtable  enemy  of  Lord  Soulis,  and  perished  in 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.     269 

an  encounter  on  the  banks  of  the  Hermitage.  Being  encased 
in  armour  he  received  no  hurt  in  battle,  but  falling  in  retreat- 
ing across  the  stream,  his  opponents,  to  their  everlasting  dis- 
grace be  it  written,  held  him  beneatli  the  water  till  lie  was 
drowned.  That  portion  of  the  river  where  he  perished  is  to 
this  day  known  as  the  Cout  of  Keeldar's  Pool.  A  grave,  too, 
of  gigantic  size  on  the  banks  of  the  Hermitage,  at  the  western 
angle  of  a  wall  surrounding  the  cemetery  garth  of  a  ruined 
chapel,  is  pointed  out  as  that  of  the  Chief  of  Keeldar. 

The  Keeldar  Stone,  wliicli  no  doubt  received  its  name  from 
being  the  gathering  place  of  the  retainers  of  this  powerful 
northern  chieftain,  when  on  the  eve  of  a  foray  with  Scotland,  is 
still  pointed  out,  and  forms  at  this  period  a  boundary  mark  on 
the  confines  of  Northumberland  and  Jed  Forest.  It  is  a  rougli 
insulated  mass  of  considerable  dimensions,  and  it  is  held 
unlucky  to  ride  or  walk  withershins  three  times  round  it.  See 
Leyden's  ballad,  "  The  Cout  of  Keeldar,"  Scott,  Bord.  Mins., 
iii.  288,  Edin.  1821.  Withershins,  i.e.  contrary  to  the  course 
of  the  sun. 

The  little  priest  o'  Felton, 

The  little  priest  o'  Felton, 

He  kill't  a  mouse  within  his  house, 

Wi'  niver  a  one  to  helj)  liira. 

Being  ignorant  that  this  old  rhyme  is  claimed  eidier  by 
Herefordshire,  Somersetshire,  or  Shropshire,  1  am  (although 
without  the  sh"ghtest  authority)  induced  to  give  our  northern 
village  the  benefit  of  all  the  honours  arising  from  the  truly 
heroic,  though  not  bloodless,  exploit  of  the  little  warlike  vicar 
of  the  olden  time. 

Tom  ilka  Day. 
An  honourable  appellation  bestowed  on  one   of  the  ancestors 


270  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

of  tlie  family  of  Burrell  of  Broome  Park.  The  name  implied 
that  he  was  ready,  aye  ready  !  to  turn  out  against  the  Scottish 
thieves  who  honoured  Xorthumberland  with  so  many  of  their 
visits  in  the  good  old  times.  See  Surtees's  History  of  Durham, 
i.,  p.  166,  [A  very  different  explanation  of  the  phrase  is  given 
elsewhere.     Tom  himself  was  the  thief.] 

A    TRUE    BRED    NORTHUMBERLAND. 

[Mr.  Cresswell,  of  Cresswell,  gave  the  fisherman  on  his  estate 
a  feast  on  the  occasion  of  his  entering  upon  his  property 
(perhaps  his  coming  of  age).  He  inquired  of  one  of  them  wdiat 
was  his  religion,  the  answer  to  which  was,  "  I'se  a  true-bred 
Xorthumberland. "  There  is  a  parallelism  which  is  said  to  have 
been  uttered  by  a  tenant  of  a  late  Duke  of  Northumberland  as 
to  his  political  creed,  but  I  forget  the  expression. — J.  H.] 

Brunt  and  scadded,  like  the  Fairies  o'  Rothley. 

At  Rothley  Mill  there  was  a  kiln  for  drying  oatmeal,  which 
the  fairies  used  to  visit  every  night  to  make  porridge.  The 
miller's  lad  one  evening  thought  he  would  gar  them  loup,  and 
looking  in  at  the  top  of  the  kiln  and  seeing  them  sitting  round 
their  caldron  stirring  the  porridge,  he  took  up  a  stone,  and 
throwing  it  into  the  pot,  the  porridge  flew  about.  The  fairies 
all  jumped  up,  and  every  one  of  them  crying  "  Brunt  and 
scadded  !  Brunt  and  scadded !  "  ran  after  the  lad  and  over- 
took him  just  as  he  reached  a  stile  between  the  mill  and 
Kothley ;  when  one  of  them  gave  him  a  blow  on  the  back,  and 
from  that  time  he  always  went  lame.  [See  another  version  in 
Hodgson's  History  of  Nortliumberland.~\ 

Soft  in  her  side  like  the  lasses  o'  Beli'ord. 

From  the  above  it  would  appear  that  the  lasses  of  Belford  arc 
proverbial  for  a  soft  spot ;  a  term  much  used  in  the  North  of 
England  and  figurative  of  intellectual  weakness. 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.     271 

Sixpenny  Jenny. 

"  The  father  of  Robert  Surtees  (Robin  of  Ryton),  was  the 
first  who  raised  the  family  from  poverty,  by  making  a  remark- 
able bargain ;  for,  being  merry  in  company,  where  a  ycung 
woman  of  great  fortune  was  with  her  lover,  one  of  the  company 
drank  to  the  lover's  best  thoughts,  who  answered  he  had  none, 
not  even  for  his  mistress,  any  one  being  welcome  to  his  interest 
with  her  for  sixpence ;  this  Edward  Surtees,  the  father,  gave 
him.  She  resenting  the  usage,  refused  her  lover  and  married 
Surtees,  and  the  wife  got  the  name  of  Sixpenny  Jenny  to  her 
death."     Mem.  of  Robert  Surtees,  Esq.,  1852,  p.  391. 

Geordie  Black-dodp. 

The  familiar  name  of  "  an  eminent  freebooter  in  North 
Reedsdale ; "  it  was  acquired  thus :  Being  with  a  party  hotly 
pursued  by  those  that  they  had  plundered,  it  was  agreed  to 
disperse;  but  Geordie  was  lame,  and  could  go  no  further  ;  and 
notwithstanding  his  friend's  remonstrance  that  his  face  was  so 
well  known  he  would  never  escape  if  taken,  declared  his 
intention  to  stay  where  he  was ;  "an  they  ken  my  face,  they 
dinna  ken  my  doup  ;  "  and  accordingly  squatting  down  in  a  plot 
of  rushes  with  his  bare  doup  alone  visible,  he  escaped  unnoticed, 
and  returned  safe  home.     Mem.  of  Robert  Surtees,  p.  89. 

As    FAR    WRANG    AS    MeGGY    LoWES    WAS. 

This  saying  is  not  so  frequently  heard  as  formerly — probably 
on  account  of  a  degree  of  coarseness  involved  in  its  explanation. 
Whoever  Meggy  was,  I  know  not,  but  her  mistake  was  a 
comical  one.  i 

Harper's  or  Piper's  Warning. 

This  was  a  warning  somewhat  similar  to  that  of  Scarborough, 


272  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

to  wit,  none  at  all.  In  the  parish  of  Lambley,  in  Tindale  Ward, 
is  a  hamlet  comprised  of  a  few  cottages  called  Harper  Town, 
which  according  to  the  indisputable  evidence  of  extensive 
remains  of  ancient  buildings,  was  once  a  village,  at  least,  if  not 
a  town  of  considerable  consequence ;  and  which  tradition  says 
was  totally  ruinated  by  the  continuous  desolating  raids  and 
burnings  of  the  freebooting  Scots. 

DORRINGTON  LaDS  YET  ! 

A  cry  of  triumph,  partaking  of  the  nature  of  a  slogan  or 
freebooting  cry ;  it  is  also  the  name  of  a  popular  Border  tune. 
When  Will  Allan,  the  piper,  was  on  his  death  bed,  he  was 
admonished  by  his  pious  neighbours  of  the  awful  consequences 
of  dying  unprejDared,  with  all  his  sins  upon  his  head;  "  Pshaw," 
quoth  he,  in  a  peevish  manner,  ''  Hand  me  my  pipes,  and  I'll 
gie  ye  '  Dorrington  Lads  Yet.' "  In  local  parlance  Doddington 
is  pronounced  Dorrington ;  so  also  across  the  border  is  Had- 
dington called  Harrington. —  [J.  H.  in  part.] 

The  folks  of  Chatton  say  the  cheese  of  Chatton  is  better  than  the 
cheese  of  Cbillingham  ;  but  the  cheese  of  Chatton's  nee  mair  like 
the  cheese  of  Cbillingham  than  chalk's  like  cheese.* 

This  gird  upon  the  folks  of  Chatton  and  Chillingham,  to  be 
read  or  spoken  aright,  must  be  pronounced  in  the  dialect  of 
these  districts  (which,  it  appears,  is  a  sort  of  broken  English, 
similar,  in  some  respects,  to  the  Welsh  pronunciation  of  our 
tongue)  more  particularly  as  regards  the  words  beginning  with 
ch,  which  must  be  given  Shatton,  Sheese,  etc.  Another  read- 
ing of  this  border  Shibboleth  begins: — "  There's  as  good  cheese 
in  Chillingham  as  ever  Chafts  chowed ;  "  and  then  I  have  also 
met  with  a  third  version  adapted  to  Chooslie  in  Berwickshire. 

[Partly  by  J.  H.] 

*  Ray,  in  his  Proverbs,  has  "  No  more  like  chalk  than  cheese." 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.     273 

[To  this  may  now  be  added  another  variety  from  Berwick- 
shire :  "  There's  as  goo^l  cheese  in  Shirsit  (Chirnside)  as  ever 
was  chowed  wi'  chafts,  and  the  cheese  o'  Chouslie,  &c."  Of  a 
parish  minister  in  Berwickshire,  his  parishioners  said  for  his 
credit,  using  the  same  sh  for  ch:  "We  a'  like  Mr.  Chalmers 
o'  Mordington,  because  he's  sae  cheery  and  chattie  wi'  the 
childer."  There  is  still  another  fling  at  the  quiet  Northumbrian 
villagers :  "  The  children  o'  Chillingham  gied  (gave)  to  the 
children  o'  Chatton  a  chair  to  sit  on."  In  1559,  Sir  Ralph 
Grey  dates  a  letter  from  '^  Shillingham,"  which  shews  that  the 
popular  pronunciation  of  this  word  was  then  prevalent  in  high 
places. — Sir  Ralph  Sadler's  State  Papers  and  Letters^  vol.  i., 
p.  594.— J.  H.] 

Haud  Yows. 

A  bye-name  used  in  North  and  South  Tyne  by  a  certain 
portion  of  the  natives  against  their  brethren  of  the  hills,  the 
sheep  farmers,  on  those  wild  and  dreary  fells.  Qy.  Does  it  not 
bear  the  English  translation  of  Old  Ewes  ?  the  word  "  awde  " 
being  strongly  aspirated  in  the  text.  [In  Berwickshire  the 
local  name  "  Haud  Ya;ids  "  was  applied  to  a  portion  of  Colding- 
ham  Moor,  where  old  horses  were  turned  out  to  graze.  Jamie  - 
son  gives  to  "  Haud,  hold,  to  preserve  for  stock,"  applied  to 
cattle.  *'  A  haudin'  cawf,"  one  not  fed  for  sale,  but  kept  that 
it  may  grow  to  maturity. — J.H.] 

Here's  to  you  my  master  Frank, 
Flower  of  the  flock  and  head  of  the  rank  ; 
But  when  you  are  dead  and  gone, 
Here's  to  you  my  master  John. 

[The  toast  of  Willie  Smith,  or,  as  he  was  popularly  called, 
Lang  Wull  Smith,  a  haveril  tyke  kept  by  the  family  of  Seaton 
Delaval,  as  a  fool. — J.H.] 

T 


274  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

Wake  i'  the  gate,  Wake  i'  the  yett, 

Wake  i'  the  tower,  an'  Wake  i'  the  smidtly  door, 

Eed-headed  Kalph.     *         *         * 

[The  primitive  natives  of  North  Sunderland  were  very  clannish, 
and  from  frequent  intermarriages,  man}''  of  them  bore  the 
family  and  baptismal  name.  Some  of  these  appear  to  have 
been  recorded  in  local  rhymes,  a  fragmentary  specimen  of  which 
verses  appears  above. — J.  H.] 

Pray  God  send  us  a  Gtood  Harvest  this  Wikter. 

Not  many  years  are  past  since  this  prayer  was  pretty  gene- 
rally expressed  by  the  wreckers  on  the  coast,  and  I  fear  that 
we  of  the  Bishopric  were  not  innocent  of  its  use.  In  1473,  a 
vessel,  the  Salvator,  belonging  to  Kennedy,  Bishop  of  St. 
Andrews,  was  wrecked  at  Bamburgh,  when  the  cargo  was 
plundered,  and  the  crew  made  prisoners  by  the  people  of  the 
county. — Pict.  Hist.  Eng.  ii.  184.  'Tis  more  than  hinted  that 
the  spirit  of  wrecking  haunted  the  coast  of  Northumberland  in 
January,  1854.  — [Partly  by  J.  H.J 

[July  30th,  1678,  one  of  the  gentlemen  of  the  county  was 
accused  of  being  a  wrecker,  before  Ralph  Jenison,  Esq.,  at 
Elswick.  "  William  Berry  and  Thomas  Bowman  say  that  on 
Saturday,  the  10th  of  November  last,  betwixt  two  and  three  of 
the  clocke  in  the  morning,  the  good  ship  or  barke  called  the 
Margarett  of  Leath,  wherof  John  Finley  was  then  maister, 
came  on  shoare  at  Seaton  seas,  at  the  port  of  Blyth's  nuke. 
And  they  being  in  danger  to  be  lost,  and  the  shipp  in  dainger 
to  be  suncke  or  broke,  the  passengers  being  afraid  of  their  lives, 
being  a  dossin  or  sixteene  in  number,  would  not  stay  aboard  the 
said  shipp,  but  were  set  ashoare.  And  before  the  shipp's  com- 
pany could  returne  againe  to  there  shipp,  one  William  Creswell 
of  Creswell,  gent.,  and  John  Boult  and  William  Curry,  booth 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.    275 

of  Bediinton,  came  aboard  the  said  shipp,  and  brooke  open  the 
doores  and  hatches,  and  went  downe  into  the  hould ;  and  did 
likewise  breake  open  severall  trunkes  and  boxes,  and  tooke 
away  severall  goods,  which  these  deponents  doe  conceive  to  be 
worth  at  least  200^." — Depositions,  &c.,from  York  Castle,  p.  229 
(Surtees  Soc). — J.  H.] 


1.  The  Pea  Kytes  o'  Coquet. 

2.  The  sheakle-meakers  o'  the  Woodside. 

These  two  sayings  are  mutually  used  as  terms  of  reproach, 
and  the  following  observations  will  illustrate  their  origin.  That 
portion  of  the  valley  of  Coquet  adjacent  to  Woodside  is  agri- 
cultural, whilst  the  other  is  almost  exclusively  pastoral.  The 
vale  of  Woodside  abounds  in  natural  wood,  and  the  facility  with 
which  it  is  obtained  has  induced  the  custom  of  twisting  birch 
twigs  in  a  peculiar  manner,  to  serve  instead  of  hempen  bands 
for  the  purpose  of  tying  up  cattle.  These  are  called  '^  sheakles  '"' 
(shackles)  ;  hence  the  expression. —  [Thomas  Arkle,  Carrick, 
Elsdon.] 

The  Clegs  o'  Lisleburx. 

The  Lisle  is  a  small  brook  in  the  parish  of  Corsenside.  The 
Cleg*  is  a  small  grey  insect,  very  common  in  the  months 
of  June  and  July.  It  is  remarkable  for  the  keenness  of  its 
bite.  There  is  small  doubt  that  every  district  in  England  will 
furnish  certain  specimens  of  natural  history  of  the  genus  homo, 
as  well  deserving  of  the  allusion  as  the  calumniated  people  of 
the  pleasant  vale  of  the  Lisle. —  [Thomas  Arkle.] 

*  Cleg,  Haematopota  pluvialis,  L. 
T  2 


276  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

Slogans. 

1.  A  Shaftoe  !  a  Shaftoe  !  !  see  "  Slogans  of  tlic  Noitli  of  England," 

pp.  17,  18,  19. 

2.  A  Tindall  !  a  Tindall  ! ! 

3.  Tynedale  to  it !     lb.  20,  21,  22. 

4.  A  Thirlvvall !  a  Thirlewall ! !  a  Thirlewall ! ! !     lb.  26. 

5.  A  Berwick  !  a  Berwick  ! !     lb.  30. 

6.  A  Bulmer !  a  Bulmer  ! !     lb.  36. 

7.  Hastings  !  (?)  the  Heron  Slogan,     lb.  36,  37. 

The  Slogans  and  War  Cries  of  the  Percy  and  Fenwick  have 
been  already  noticed. 


A   FEW    PEOVERBIAL    SAYmGS,    &c.,    PECULIAR   TO 
THE    BORDERS   AND    FEUDAL   PERIODS. 

ViVlTUR    EX    RaPTO. 

The  moss-troopers'  motto. 

A  Marciiman, 

An  inhabitant  of  the  marches,  limits  or  Borders,  adjoining 
upon  Scotland.  The  margins  of  the  two  kingdoms  were  called 
the  Debateable  Lands  and  considered  as  enemies'  countries. 
There  were  March  Laws  and  March  Courts  of  Judicature,  of 
which  the  Lords  Wardens  of  the  Marches  were  supreme  judges. 

Sir  Henry  Percy  laye  at  the  Newe  Castelle, 

I  telle  you  witliouten  drede  ; 
He  had  byn  a  March  man  all  his  dayes, 

And  kept  Barwyke  npou  Twede. 

Hot  Trod;  or  Hot  Foot.     {See  p.  241.) 


rOPULAK  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.    277 

Moss-Troopers.     (See  p.  95.) 
Saufey  Money.    (See  p.  102.) 

The  Rush  Bush  keeps  the  Cow. 

Occasionally  the  English  and  Scottish  Borders  enjoyed  periods 
of  peaceful  repose ;  and  then  it  was  that  the  inhabitants  could 
retire  to  rest  leaving  no  other  keepers  to  guard  their  castle  than 
the  rush  bush.  These  periods  only  came  rarely,  and  after 
examples  of  extreme  severity  on  the  part  of  the  lord  warden, 
and  the  county  keepers.  The  vow,  that  the  rush  bush  should 
guard  the  cow,  was  uttered  by  Lord  William  Howard,  on  his 
appointment  as  a  Border  Commissioner.  It  did  not  originate 
with  him. 

A  Warden  Haid,  or  Road. 
An  inroad  commanded  by  the  warden  in  person. 

"  And  by  my  faith  ! ''  the  gate  ward  said, 
"  I  think  'twill  prove  a  warden  raid." 

Lai/  of  the  Last  Minstrel,  c.  iv.,  s.  iv. 

In  the  Border  Laws  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  1596,  it  is  ordered, 
"  That  no  warden  or  keeper  ride  hereafter  in  person,  or  direct 
any  to  ride  hereafter  by  his  commandment,  or  causing,  in 
hostile  manner  within  the  opposite  realm,  without  a  special 
command  first  had  thereto  from  the  prince,  under  his  hand  and 
seal,  under  the  pain  to  be  accounted  a  public  enemy  of  the 
peace  ;  and  whosoever  shall  accompany  him  to  any  such  un- 
lawful Act,  or  ride  at  his  command  in  manner  aforesaid,  shall 
lose  for  ever  all  manner  of  redress  on  any  offence  done  to  them 
before  the  date  of  the  said  raid  and  nevertheless  shall  satisfy 
the  party  grieved  for  skaith  and  damage,  according  to  the  laws 
of  the  March." 


278  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 


RHYMES,  PROVERBS,  SAYINGS,  REPROACHES,  CHARAC- 
TERISTICS, &c.,  RELATING  TO  HEXHAM  AND  ITS 
INHABITANTS. 

1.  Hexham,  the  heart  of  all  England. 

A  fuller  and  more  correct  version  gives  the  following 
reading : — 

2.  Hexham,  the  heart  of  all  England,  with  a  fortnight  fair  every 
week,  and  a  market  day  on  the  Tuesday. 

3.  Hexham  Hopenny. 

A  bye- word  of  undoubted  antiquity.  Hopenny,  i.e.  half- 
penny. This  saying  is  well  illustrated  by  the  following  gird  on 
the  natives  of  that  ancient  town:  "A  haporth  o'  soat,  and  a 
hoppeny  back  and  there^s  o  cocer*  to  put  it  on." 

Both  these  sayings  are,  no  doubt,  used  as  sneers  at  the 
vulgar  dialect  cf  Hexham.  Hopenny  is  the  common  way  of 
naming  the  coin ;  though  of  late,  it  has  in  some  measure 
yielded  to  the  more  correct  pronunciation. 

4.  Hexham  measure  ;  up  heaped,  pressed  down,  and  running  over. 

Some  of  the  dry  measures  used  at  Hexham  do  not  correspond 
with  those  of  the  same  name  in  general  use  in  the  north  of 
England.  Thus,  what  is  called  a  boll  of  corn  in  Hexham 
market  contains  four  Winchester  bushels ;  the  customary 
number  in  other  places  being  only  two.  When  the  fact  is 
known,  the  inconvenience  is  not  verv  creat 


*  s 


Ciaucer. 


rOPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC,  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.     279 

5.  He  comes  fra'  Hexham  Green,  and  that's  ten  miles  ayont  Hell. 

There  is  a  well-known  spot  near  Hexham,  called  Tyne  Green, 
where,  till  within  these  few  years,  the  fairs  used  to  be  held. 
This  saying  is,  I  am  glad  to  observe,  now  rarely  heard  in  the 
north.  There  is  a  parallel  saying  belonging  to  the  midland 
counties  which  celebrates  a  certain  cave,  near  Castleton,  in  the 
district  of  the  Peak,  Derbyshire.  Both  proverbs  are  spoken  of 
pej"sons  whose  place  of  birth'  and  former  residence  are  alike 
unknown  to  the  party  questioned. 

6.  Every  one  for  their  ain  hand,  like  the  pipers  o'  Hexham. 

Down  to  a  comparatively  recent  period,  a  piper  was  attached 
to  every  Border  town  of  note  (more  particularly  in  Scotland). 
The  office  was  in  general  considered  to  be  hereditary.  About 
the  commencement  of  spring  and  the  close  of  harvest,  it  was 
the  custom  of  these  migratory  musicians,  who  were  nearly  the 
sole  depositories  of  all  the  oral,  musical,  and  poetical  traditions 
of  the  north,  to  make  a  progress  through  a  certain  district, 
beyond  which  they  must  not  pass,  in  respect  of  the  rights  and 
privileges  of  their  brethren.  Their  simple  but  stirring  tales,  or 
a  historic  or  love  ballad,  sung  to  the  accompaniment  of  the 
Northumbrian  pipes  invariably  was  considered  as  a  sufficient 
recompense  both  for  bed  and  board.  To  pipe  for  one's  own 
hand,  is,  I  take  it,  to  pipe  for  any  party  who  will  employ  one, 
whether  they  be  friend  or  foe.  Or,  in  other  words,  to  pipe  for 
those  who  pay  best. 

7.  Hexham,  where  they  knee-band  lops,*  and  put  spectacles  upon 
blind  spiders. 

A  derisive  proverb  occasionally  applied  to  other  places.     For 
these  alleged  preposterous  practices  I  can  in  no  way  account. 

*  Fleas. 


280  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

8.  Silly-good-natured,  like  a  Hexham  goose  ;  bid  him  sit  down, 
and  he  will  lie  down. 

A  well-mouthed  proverb,  which  I  take  to  be  a  now  forgotten 
pun  on  the  ancient  name  of  the  town,  Ha-Gus-tald. 

9.  A  Hexham  goose. 

Natives  of  Hexham  are  so  called  collectively,  without  distinc- 
tion of  sex.  A  native  writes  me :  By  this  I  am  reminded  of  what 
I  have  often  heard  and  in  my  boyhood  I  have  often  bawled  in 
the  streets  during  a  heavy  fall  of  snow-flakes,  "  The  country 
gowks  are  plucking  their  geese  and  sending  the  feathers  to 
Hexham.*' — [At  Newcastle  they  say  :  "  The  keelmen  are 
plotting  their  geese."] 

10.  He's  getten  up  the  lang  stairs. 

A  Hexham  saying  parallel  with  that  of  Newcastle :  Hc^s 
getten  into  limbo,  up  the  19  steps,  i.e.  into  prison. 

11.  Hexham  famed  for  glovers  and  hatters. 

The  former  item  of  celebrity  in  a  great  measure  still  exists, 
the  latter  I  fear  has  vanished. 

.   12.  A  Hexham  sixpence-worth. 

A  purchase  composed  of  the  following  articles  :  A  penny- 
worth o'  tay,  an'  a  pennyworth  o'  shugar,  three  penny  loaves, 
an'  a  pennyworth  o'  butter,  an'  a  pennyworth  o'  hey  (he) 
herrina:,  for  mv  mother  likes  melts  best. 

Although  the  reader  on  casting  the  soveral  sums  of  this  pur- 
chase together  will  find  it  amount  to  a  somewhat  larger  sum,  it 
is  proverbially  known  as  the  Hexham  sixpenny-worth. 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.     281 

13.  Go  to  Hexham. 

A  Newcastle  malediction.  ' 

[Go  to  Hexhambirnie  is  a  saying  well  known  at  Kelso  when 
one  is  annoyed  by  any  one  teasing  him.  In  Hislop's  Scottish 
Proverbs  it  is  Hexclbirnie.] 

14.  The  Fray  Bell. 

That  is  the  Foray  Bell.  There  was  previous  to  1742  at  Hex- 
ham Abbey  Church  a  bell  so  called.  It  weighed  7,000  lbs., 
and  its  sound  was  heard  to  an  immense  distance.  It  was  recast 
in  the  above  year.  In  troublous  times  it  was  used  to  give  the 
inhabitants  of  that  now  peaceful  and  beautiful  district  notice  of 
the  approach  of  the  Scots,  or  equally  rapacious  Redesdale  and 
North  Tynedale  freebooters,  when  on  foray,  or  fray  as  it  was 
more  generally  called.  This  bell  was  broken  at  the  marriage  of 
Will.  Blackett,  Esq.,  with  the  Hon.  Lady  Barbara  Villiers. 

We  still  retain  the  latter  word  in  the  proverb,  "  'Tis  better  to 
be  at  the  end  of  a  feast,  than  at  the  beginning  of  a  fray." 

[The  words  foray  and  fray  have  no  necessary  connection, 
except  that  a  foray  would  probably  end  in  a  fray.] 


RHYMES,  PROVERBS,  SAYINGS,  REPROACHES,  CHA- 
RACTERISTICS, &c.,  RELATING  TO  BERWICK-ON- 
TWEED. 

1.  The  good  town  o'  Berwick. 

In  several  MS.  documents  of  the  olden  time,  the  town  of 
Bersvick  is  so  designated ;  but  I  simply  take  it  to  be  a  mere 
compliment  parallel  with  the  phrase,  "  The  good  men  of 
Newcastle."  It  is  also  called  "  Her  Majesty's  Good  Town  of 
Berwick-upon-Tweed." 


282  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

2.  M.  semel  et  C  ter,  semel  X,  serael  V,  dabis  I  ter  ; 
Capto  Bervico,  sit  laus  et  gloria  Christo. 

— Fordun,  I.  xii,,  cxxxvii. 

The  taking  of  the  good  town  of  Berwick  was  recorded  by 
some  Scottish  monk  in  the  above  rhymes. 

3.  The  middle  arch  of  Berwick  Bridge  is  at  one  end. 

This  is  a  genuine  English  bull  which  I  have  been  told 
strangers  are  often  guilty  of  using.  In  truth  the  loftiest  and 
widest  arch  (which  is  the  middle  one  in  almost  all  bridges)  is,  if 
my  memory  serves  me,  the  second  from  the  north,  the  gross 
number  being  fifteen.  This  bridge  was  built  by  Mr.  James 
Burrell  and  Lancelot  Branxton ;  and  is  said  to  have  been  twenty- 
four  years  four  months  and  four  days  in  building.  It  was 
finished  on  the  24th  of  Oct.,  1634.*  An  old  traveller  who 
visited  the  north  of  England  in  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth 
century  says,  when  writing  cf  Berwick,  it  hath  "  a  fair  and 
stately  stone  bridge,  built  at  the  charge  of  the  late  famous,  pious, 
prudent,  and  for  ever  memorable  prince  and  monarch,  James, 
King  of  Great  Britaine,"  etc.  This  edifice  measures  1,164  feet 
in  length  and  17  in  width.  Towards  its  cost  Parliament  gave 
the  sum  of  £14,960  Is.  6d. 

4.  The  burghers  o'  Berwick  get  warm  rolls  and  butter  ev^ry  morning 
to  their  breakfast.f 

The  above  saying  has  evidently  been  invented  as  an  exercise 
of  the  organs  of  speech  of  the  natives,  who,  on  account  of  the 

*  The  bridge  was  opened  for  traffic  at  latest  in  1G25,  and  the 
accounts  for  repairs  were  in  1634  transferred  from  the  rojal  to  local 
accounts. — J.  S. 

t  From] Chambers's  Poji.  Rhymes,  &c.,  p.  157. 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.     283 

burr  or  cinder  in  their  throat,  will  no  doubt  feel  extreme 
difficulty  in  articulating  the  words  which  compose  the 
sentence. 

[It  was  the  custom  for  the  mayor's  Serjeants  to  breakfast  in 
the  mayor's  house,  and  for  breakfast  they  had  cold  beef,  ale, 
and  rolls.  Whether  there  is  any  allusion  to  this  in  the  saying 
or  not  I  cannot  say.  The  custom  is  now  abolished.  Or  the 
saying  may  have  allusion  to  the  freemen  by  those  who  were 
employed  in  keeping  up  the  interest  of  the  M.P.'s,  or  of  those 
who  intended  to  become  candidates  for  that  honour.  But  this, 
however,  is  mere  guess-work. — G.  J.]* 

5.  From  Berwick  to  Dover, 
Three  hundred  miles  over. 

Parallel  with  the  Scripture  expression — "  from  Dan  to  Beer- 
sheba." 

6.  The  sow  has  farrowed. 

The  siege  of  Berwick,  under  Edward  II.,  commenced  on  the 
1st  September,  1319.  On  the  thirteenth  day  a  general  assault 
was  begun,  wherein  the  English  employed  a  great  machine 
called  a  sow,  constructed  for  holding  and  defending  men,  who 
were  moved  in  it  towards  the  foot  of  the  wall,  in  order  to  under- 
mine and  sap  its  foundation.  Devices  were  used  to  burn  it,  but 
by  throwing  a  stone  of  enormous  weight  from  an  engine,  the 
sow  was  split  and  her  occupants  dislodged.  This  incident  gave 
rise  to  the  above  saying,  which  is  still  occasionally  heard  in 
Berwickshire  and  Northumberland  when  any  apparently  deep- 
laid  scheme  ends  in  something  even  less  substantial  than  smoke. 
A  similar  story  is  told  in  connection  with  the  siege  of  Dunbar 
Castle,  defended  by  Black  Agnes  against  the  Earl  of  Salisbury, 
1338. 

*  Dr.  George  Johnston,  the  eminent  naturalist. 


284  THE  DENHAM  TEACTS. 

7.  I  am  a  Brigg,  as  Travellers  weel  do  ken, 
For  English,  Scottish,  and  all  other  men. 

A  rhyme  said  to  be  inscribed  upon  the  bridge  of  Berwick- 
upon-Tweed  ;  but  the  truth  is  it  must  only  be  supposed  to  exist. 
Still  it  is  worthy  of  preservation. 


8.  What  weyns  King  Edward,  with  his  long  shankes, 
To  have  wonne  Berwick  all  our  unthankes  ? 
Gaas  pykes  hym, 
And  when  he  hath  it 
Gaas  dykes  him. 

Some  printed  copies  read  ''  gas  "  in  place  of  "  gaas." 
In  the  year  1297,  while  Edward  I.  was  besieging  Berwick, 
the  Scots  made  the  above  rhymes  upon  him,  as  saith  Fabyan. 
However,  the  Scots  were  beaten  in  this  instance,  both  with 
sword  and  song.  Berwick  was  soon  taken,  and  shortly  after 
they  suffered  a  signal  discomfiture  at  Dunbar.  ''Wherefore 
ye  English  menne  in  reproache  of  the  Scots  made  this  rime 
followino; : — 

These  scatterand  Scottes, 
Hold  we  for  sottes 

Of  wrenches  unware  ; 
Erly  in  a  mornyng, 
In  an  eivil  timyng. 

Came  thei  to  Dunbar." 

Wrighfs  Essai/s,  vol.  ii.  p.  261. 

The  Arundel  and  Fairfax  MSS.  give  somewhat  various 
readings  of  the  latter  rhymes.  [For  other  versions  of  these 
rhymes,  see  Ritson's  Essay  on  Scottish  Song,  pp.  xxv.  and 
xxvi.] 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.     285 

9.  Berwick,  the  key  of  England  on  the  east  sea. 

Carlisle,  on  the  west  sea,  is  also  so  termed.  Mr.  Dibclln,  in 
his  Northern  Tour,  vol.  ii.  p.  394,  remarks  : — "  The  governor 
of  Berwick  Castle  in  the  thirteenth,  fourteenth,  and  fifteenth 
centuries  might  be  said  to  wear  the  keys  of  Scotland  in  his 

girdle." 

10.  There's  a  lang  bridge  at  Berwick, 
A  church  without  a  steeple,* 
A  dunghill  before  every  door, 
And  very  deceitful  people. 

Great  truths  are  chronicled  in  the  first  two  verses  of  these 
rhymes ;  but  as  regards  the  others,  for  the  credit  of  the  town 
and  people,  I  hope,  in  the  present  day  and  generation,  they 
are  inapplicable.  One  disagreeable  nuisance,  however,  remained 
at  Berwick  till  within  the  last  ten  years  or  so,  to  wit,  the 
butchers'  slaughter-houses,  which,  being  situated  in  a  central 
and  elevated  part  of  the  town,  sent  forth  their  filth  and  putrid 
exhalations  down  several  streets,  to  the  great  annoyance  of  the 
more  cleanly  portion  of  the  inhabitants. 

At  the  meeting  of  Guardians,  Berwick  Union,  Xovember  12, 
1860,  Mr.  George  Smith  said,  "  He  remembered  about  forty 
years  ago,  when  be  used  to  come  to  school  at  Berwick,  there 
was  an  old  song  which  his  schoolmaster  used  to  sing  which  ran 

thus : — 

Berwick  is  a  dirty  town, 

A  church  without  a  steeple. 
There's  a  midden  at  every  door, 
God  curse  all  the  people  ! 

There  is  no  such  thing  as  a  midden  at  every  door  now ;  by 
the  Health  of  Towns  Act  the  blessing  of  cleanliness  has  been 
bestowed  on  the  town. — Berwick  Advertiser,  Ifoveinberl7tJi, 1860. 

*  The  church-going  people  are  suramonod  to  divine  service  by  bells, 
eight  in  number,  which  are  hung  in  the  Town  Hall. 


286  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

In  tlie  Berwick  Advertiser,  November  24tli,  1860,  "  An 
older  man  than  Mr.  Smith  "  gives  what  he  considers  the  correct 
version : 

Berwick  is  an  ancient  town, 

A  church  without  a  steeple. 
A  pretty  girl  at  every  door, 
/  And  very  generous  people.  ' 

J.  H. 

[The  "  Church  without  a  steeple,"  is  introduced  into  a 
curious  piece  of  doggrel  inscribed  on  a  tombstone  in  the  church- 
yard at  Berwick.  The  sculptor's  name  was  Jackson,  as  well  as 
those  he  commemorates.     The  stone  was  erected  in  1802.] 


The  peaceful  mansions  of  the  dead 

Are  scattered  far  and  near ; 
But  by  the  stones  o'er  this  yard  spread, 

Seem  numerously  here. 
A  relative  far  from  his  home 

Mindful!  of  men  so  just, 
Reveres  this  spot,  inscribes  the  tomb, 

And  in  his  God  doth  trust 
That  he  shall  pass  a  righteous  life, 

Live  long  for  sake  of  Seven, 
Return  in  safety  to  his  wife 

And  meet  them  both  in  heaven. 
God  bless  the  souls  departed  hence. 

This  church  without  a  steeple; 
The  king,  the  clergy,  and  the  good  sense 

Of  all  the  Berwick  people. 


There  is  another  version  of  the  rhyme,  and  Robert  Burns 
was  reputed  to  be  its  author.  When  he  visited  Berwick  he 
formed  a  very  indifferent  opinion  of  the  town  and  its  inhabitants  j 


POPULAR  EHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.     287 

and  scratched  the  following  lines  upon  a  pane  in  the  window  of 
the  place  where  he  stayed  : 

Berwick  is  a  dirty  place. 

Has  a  church  jvithout  a  steeple, 
A  middenstead  at  every  door, 

And  a  — —  deceitful  people."* 

11.  Once  going  through  Berwick  maketh  not  a  man  of  war. 
[Var.  a  soldier,] 

This  aphorism  evidently  alludes  to  that  unhappy  period  when 
we,  either  privately  or  publicly,  were  plunged  in  one  continuous 
and  savage  warfare  w^ith  our  neighbours  the  Scots. 

12.  The  no-nation  town  of  Berwick. 

In  the  reign  of  Edward  the  Sixth,  this  Border  town  was,  by 
Act  of  Parliament,  made  a  town  and  county  of  itself,  indepen- 
dent of  both  states. 

At  the  siege  of  Berwick  by  King  Edward  the  First,  Matt, 
of  Westminster  says,  sixty  thousand  were  slain,  and  Fordun, 
another  old  historian,  says  that  the  streets  ran  with  blood  for 
two  days,  and  that  the  mills  w^ere  actually  set  agoing  with  the 
blood  of  the  slain.  At  a  later  siege,  1405,  "Walsingham  says, 
that  cannon  were  used  for  the  first  time.  In  the  time  of 
Richard  III.  of  England  and  James  III.  of  Scotland,  the 
disputed  Border  grounds  were  agreed  upon  to  be  left  unculti- 
vated, unbuilt  upon,  and  untilled. 

13.  Berwick  upon  Tweed, 

Newcastle  upon  Tyne  : 
Alnwick  for  wliite  bread,  f 
Morpeth  for  swine. 

*  Border  Treasury,  p.  286  •  f  Pronounced  breed. 


288  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

These  rhymes  also  occur  witli  the  following  variorum  readings 
of  the  two  verses  : — 

14.  Eyemoutli  for  a  bonny  lass, 

And  Coldingham  for  swine. 

A  third  reading  gives  : — 

15.  Spiltal  for  cuddies  (asses), 

And  Tweedmouth  for  swine. 
J.  H. 

16.  A  Berwick  burgess  speaks  wi'  a  bunch  o'  bear-awns  in  his 
hause. 

By  no  means  a  bad  alliterative  saying,  bearing  on  the  burr 
of  the  burgers  of  Berwick. 

Bear.  An  inferior  kind  of  barley.  Qy.  Hence  the  name  of 
the  beverage  brewed  therefrom. 

Hause.  The  throat ;  also  the  neck.  The  ancient  spelling  of 
this  word  is  hals.  A  hals-col,  is  a  steel  gorget  to  protect  the 
neck  of  the  wearer. 

17.  Berwick  burr. 

The  good  folks  of  Berwick  "  owing  to  some  occult  cause,"  as 
funny  old  Fuller  expresses  it,  "have  a  wharling  in  their  throats, 
so  that  they  cannot  pronounce  the  letter  R." 

18.  From  Berwick  to  "Ware. 

A  proverbial  phrase  to  be  met  with  in  Chaucer's  Canterbury 
Tales.     [Pardonere,] 

19.  If  a  Berwick  lad  and  lass, 

Gang  together  by  the  Steps  o'  Grace, 
Tlicy'll  sup  wi'  the  priest  o'  Lamberton. 

The  Steps  of  Grace  is,  I  am  informed,  a  farm-place  on  the 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.    289 

road  from  Berwick  to  Lamberton  ;  the  Gretna  Green  of  the 
Eastern  Borders.  The  priest  of  Lamberton  is  [was]  generally 
an  old  shoemaker,  broken-down  farmer,  or  an  ousted  priest — 
frequently  a  "  a  deboshed  tippling  creature  "  who  takes  upon 
himself  the  functions  of  the  priesthood,  and  reads  the  English 
marriage  service  to  any  party  anxious  to  get  wedded  in  haste — 
generally  called  Buckle-the- Beggar  marriages. 

[The  original  Steps  of  Grace  were  cut  in  the  steep  sea  banks 
that  bounded  the  farm,  to  admit  of  access  to  the  coast.] 

20.  Sin'  the  days  o'  Gilligacus 

There's  been  fishers  on  the  Tweed: 

Sin'  the  Romans  came  to  wrack  us, 
And  consume  our  ancient  seed, 

A  castle  strong,  has  been  to  back  us 
On  the  tap  o'  yon  brae  head. 

"  In  turning  over  some  old  letters,  1  have  laid  my  hands  on  one 
from  an  old  friend,  the  late  Mr.  Alexander  A.  Carr,  author  of 
the  History  of  Coldingham  Priory,  in  which  he  sends  me  a 
copy  of  the  above  rhymes,  relating,  he  says,  to  the  old  Castle  of 
Berwick.  He  gives  no  explanation  with  it,  nor  makes  any 
commentary  thereon,  and  so  you  have  it  as  I  got  it.  I  suppose 
Gilligacus  to  be  Galgacus.  How  Mr.  Carr  got  it  1  cannot  tell. 
His  letter  was  written  in  1834."  Private  Correspondence,  G.H , 
28th  September,  1852.  [G.  H.  is  the  late  Mr.  George  Hender- 
son, surgeon,  Chirnside,  Berwickshire,  a  local  poet,  and  author 
of  the  Popular  Rhymes,  Sayings,  and  Proverbs  of  the  County 
of  Bencick  (Newcastle,  1856),  and  other  writings.] 

22.  Berwick  Bridge. 

The  following  characteristic  story,  in  union  with  this  noble 
structure,  was  kindly  communicated  just  in  time  to  allot  it  a 
place  in  the  current  section: — 

u 


I 


290  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

As  the  story  goes,  tlie  gatekeeper  on  the  bridge  receives  a 
penny  from  every  Scotsman  who  crosses  over  to  England ;  and 
in  return  gives  half-a-crown  to  every  Scotsman  who  comes  back 
again.     {See  Rhyme  No.  7.) 

I  may  here  remark  that  it  is  assumed  to  be  an  historical  fact 
that  no  living  creature  native  of  the  Land  o'  Cakes  is  recorded 
to  have  ever  re-sought  the  country  of  its  birth  save  and  except- 
ing King  James's  cow. 

Of  course  both  stories  are  somewhat  apocryphal. 


24.  Go  to  Berwick,  Johnny. 

The  following  are  the  words  which  remain  to  us  of  an  old, 
very  old  song,  which  gives  name  to  the  no  doubt  equally  old,  if 
not  still  older,  tune,  which  is  well  known  and  highly  popular  in 
other  places  than  the  town  it  refers  to  : — 

Go  to  Berwick,  Johnny, 

Bring  her  frae  the  Border  ; 
"We'll  cry  ''  Fye  upon  ye," 

If  ye  let  her  further. 
The  English  loons  will  twyne 

Ye,  of  your  winsome  treasure  ; 
And  ere  ye  so  her  tyne, 

Your  sword  wi'  them  I'd  measure. 


Go  to  Berwick,  Johnny, 

And  redeem  your  honor  ; 
Before  the  sun  rise  on  ye. 

Shew  our  Scottish  banner. 
I  am  Rab,  the  king. 

And  ye  are  Jock,  my  brither ; 
Or,  we  brook  sic  thing 

We'se  a  be  there  thegither. 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.     291 

Go  to  Berwick,  Johnny, 

On  yer  braid  sword  bind  ye  ; 
Wi'  a'  my  graith  upon  me, 

ril  be  close  behind  ye. 
Ye'll  ride  on  the  colt 

And  I'll  ride  on  the  filly; 
Saddle  horse  and  mare, 

And  we'll  to  Berwick,  Billy  ! 

A  portion  of  this  song  is  given  in  Johnson's  Musical  Museum 
It  purports  to  be  of  the  age  of  Robert  II.  of  Scotland.  This  is 
inferred  from  the  words,  "  I  am  Rab,  the  King."  But  this 
might  have  been  said  by  Robert  III.  also,  yet  the  urgency  and 
spirit  of  the  address  would  not  be  in  keeping  with  the  character 
of  that  indolent  and  uuAvarlike  monarch.  The  last  verse  was 
written  down  from  the  recitation  of  an  old  lady  aged  99,  if  not 
100  years.     She  died  a  year  or  two  ago. 

In  my  gatherings  of  our  Northern  Nursery  Lore  is  the  follow- 
ing quatrain,  which  is  evidently  a  fragment  of  the  above  good 
old  border  song : — 

Hide  away  !  Ride  away  ! 

Ride  away  to  Berwick,  Johnnie : 
Ye'll  ride  on  the  Brown  Colt, 

And  I'll  ride  on  the  filly. 

It  is  noted  down  as  a  Berwickshire  Nursery  Rhyme,  and  a 
reference  is  given  to  another  version  quoted  by  Ritsou,  who 
refers   it   to    Sir   William    Wallace   and   Sir   John    Graham.* 

[*  This  being  of  my  communication,  I  shall  adduce  Ritson's  own 
words.  **  The  editor  has  heard  it  gravely  asserted,  in  Edinburgh, 
that  a  foolish  song  beginning. 

Go,  go,  go,  go  to  Berwick,  Johny, 

Thou  shalt  have  the  horse,  and  I'll  have  the  pony, 

was  actually  made  upon  one  of  this  hero's  (Wallace)  marauding 

u  2 


292  THE  DENHAM  TEACTS. 

Mayhap,  some  at  least  of  my  ''  charitable  readers  "  will  permit 
me  to  observe,  that  the  former  suggestion  approximates  closer 
to  probability.  The  wcrd  billy,  which  terminates  the  song,  is 
often  met  with  in  our  Northern  Anthology.  Its  meaning  is,  a 
companion,  a  brother,  a  young  springald ;  also,  it  is  used  as  a 
general  term  of  endearment  in  connection  with  the  male  sex. 

expeditions,  and  that  the  person  thus  addressed  was  no  other  tlian 
his  Jidus  Achates,  Sir  John  Graliam." — Historical  Essay  on  Scottish 
Song,  p.  xxvi.,  and  in  Eitson's  Scottish  Songs,  vol.  i.  Some  one  had 
attempted  to  cram  poor  Ritson  !  The  set  of  the  song,  given  from 
Johnson's  Museum,  in  Whitelaw's  Book  of  Scottish  Song,  p.  571, 
differs  in  some  respects  from  Mr.  Denham's  copy,  which  is  more 
spirited.  It  is  there  said  to  have  been  partly  written  by  John 
Hamilton,  music  seller,  Edinburgh.  There  is  another  juvenile  varia- 
tion of  the  rhyme — 

'■'  Raw  lads,  and  bait  yauds. 
On  wi'  creels,  and  on  wi'  pads, 
And  owre  Ross  hill  to  Berwick,  Johnnie." 

Bait-yauds  are  women  who  gather  bait  for  fishermen.  Ross  is  a 
small  fishing  hamlet  in  the  parish  of  Ayton,  situated  by  the  coast- 
margin  at  the  foot  of  a  steep  bank. — See  Henderson's  Pojmlar  lihymes 
of  the  County  of  Berwick,  p.  107. — J.  H.] 


RHYMES,  PROVERBIAL  SAYINGS,  REPROACHES, 
CHARACTERISTICS,  &c.,  RELATING  TO  NEW- 
CASTLE-ON-TYNE. 

Section  I. — The  People. 

1.  He  has  got  the  Newcastle  burr  in  his  throat. 

The  inhabitants  of  Newcastle,  Morpeth,  and  various  oliier 


POPULAE  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.      293 

places  in  the  north,  have  a  guttural  pronunciation  like  that 
called  in  Leicestershire  warling,  none  of  them  being  able  to 
pronounce  the  letter  r.  The  burr  is  a  peculiar  whirring  sound 
made  by  the  natives  of  these  places  in  pronouncing,  or  rather 
endeavouring  to  pronounce,  the  above  letter,  supposed  to  be 
derived  from  their  Danish  ancestors. 


2.  Ye're  like  Tom  Tod's  pig,  it's  a'  your  ain  bringing  on. 

Tom  lived  in  one  of  the  purlieus  of  Westgate,  and  his  pig 
having  broken  down  the  barriers  of  the  sty  was  roaming  at 
liberty,  when  a  carriage  in  passing  by  ran  over  it  and  broke 
one  of  its  legs.  It  roared  out  mightily,  and  as  soon  as  its  owner 
caught  hold  of  it  he  exclaimed,  "  Damn  you,  make  less  noise, 
its  a'  your  ain  bringing  on." 


3.  Honour  bright,  Bet  Watt ! 

A  protestation  of  honour  often  made  use  of  by  the  common 
people  in  Newcastle.  It  originated  with  and  is  still  retained  in 
commemoration  of  a  late  well-known  Newcastle  worthy. 


4.  Crankies. 

A  proverbial  name  for  pitmen. 

"  The  Crankies,  fan-er  back  than  I  knaw, 
Hae  gyen  to  Sizes  to  see  trumpets  blaw." 

5.  The  Drunkard's  cloak,  or  Newcastle  cloak. 

The  cloak  for  the  drunkard  and  the  branks  for  the  scold  were 


294 


THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 


two  ancient  nortli  countiy  punishments  which  were  often  in- 
flicted on  those  disturbers  of  the  peace  in  the  seventeenth 
century.  The  common  drunkard  was  led  through  the  town  as 
a  spectacle  of  contempt,  covered  witli  a  large  barrel  called  a 
Newcastle  Cloak,  one  end  being  out,  and  the  other  having  a 
hole  through  it  of  sufficient  size  to  allow  the  offender's  head 
to  pass  through,  by  which  means  the  barrel  rested  on  the 
shoulders. 

6.  Muzzle  her,  muzzle  lier,  put  her  in  the  branks. 

The  above  is  still  occasionally  repeated,  by  one  or  other  of  the 
"  good  men  of  Newcastle,"  when  they  chance  to  hear  one  of 
their  native  ladies  from  the  locality  of  Sandhill  or  Sandgate 
giving  too  free  scope  to  her  passions  by  the  volubility  of  her 
tongue  and  the  extent  of  her  voice.  The  branks  was  an  instru- 
ment formerly  kept  in  the  Mayor's  Chambers,  Newcastle,  for 
the  punishment  of  chiding  and  scolding  women,  and  is  still  pre- 
served in  the  Justice  Room  in  the  Manors.  It  is  made  of  iron, 
fastens  round  the  head  like  a  muzzle,  and  has  a  spike  to  insert 
in  the  mouth,  so  as  effectually  to  silence  the  offensive  orga  i 
within.  Mr.  Hodgson  speaks  of  the  branks  as  being  still 
applied  to  scolds  in  his  time. — Beauties  of  England  and  Wales, 
Mrthd.,  p   64. 

7.  As    fine    as    Forty    Poke's   wife,    who    dressed    herself    with 

primroses. 

I  plead  guilty  to  have  taken  a  two-fold  liberty  with  this  truly 
elegant  Newcastle  comparison. 

8.  Stands  like  a  Newcastle  fishwife. 

A  horse-dealer's  phrase,  touching  the  peculiar  manner  in 
which  some  horses  stand  with  their  forelegs. 


POPULAR  EHYMESj  ETC.^  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.      295 

9.  (1 )  At  Westgate  cam  Thornton  in, 

With  hap,  a  halfpenny,  and  a  lamb's  skin. 

(2)  At  the  West  gate  came  Thornton  in, 
With  a  hap  and  a  halfpenny  in  a  ram's  skin. 

(3)  In  the  West  gate  came  Thornton  in, 
With  a  happen-hap't  in  a  ram's  skynn. 

(4)  Here  did  Thornton  enter  in. 

With  hope,  a  halfpenny,  and  a  lamb's  skin. 

(5)  With  a  hopp,  a  halfepenny,  and  a  lamb's  skin. 
At  West  gate  came  Hodge  Thornton  in. 

Stainsby,  Arch.  yEliana,  iii.,  119. 

(6)  In  at  the  West  gate  came  Thornton  in, 

With  a  hap  and  halfe-penny  and  a  lambes  skin. 

(7)  At  the  West  gate  cam  Thornton  in, 

With  a  hap,  a  halfpenny,  and  hapt  in  a  ram-skin. 


Such  are  the  various  readings  of  a  whimsical  and  satirical 
couplet  peculiar  to  north  country. 

In  the  Love  Sick  King^  by  Antliony  Brewer,  gent.,  1665, 
Thornton,  the  pedlar,  is  a  character,  and  writes  on  a  tile. 

In  connection  with  these  rhymes  I  may,  perhaps,  be  per- 
mitted to  observe,  that  by  omitting  the  article  A  in  the  2nd, 
3rd,  6th,  and  7th  readings  and  translating  the  word  hap  by 
luck  or  fortune,  rather  than  coverlet  or  blanket,  we  arrive  at  a 
more  reasonable  and  rational  result.  (Qy.)  Was  not  the  ram 
or  lamb's  skin  his  covering  or  garment,  or  rather,  perhaps,  he 
might  be  clothed  in  the  customary  manner  of  those  belonging  to 
his  class,  and  the  skin  be  in  the  place  of  his  first  article  of  mer- 


296  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

chandise?  The  following  English  and  Scots  proverbs  prove 
the  birth  and  rise  of  the  word  hap  in  the  sense  of  luck,  many 
centuries  previous  to  that  of  the  saying  on  the  Newcastle 
princely  merchant : — 

Some  have  liap,  some  stick  in  the  gap, 

Nae  man  can  make  his  ain  hap. 

Hap  and  a  halfpenny  is  world's  gear  enough. 

["  Good  luck  and  a  halfpenny  and  a  lamb's  skin,"  occurs  in 
Pinkerton^s  Scotland,  i.,  p.  345. — J.H.] 

10.  Newcastle  hospitality. 

That  is,  roasting  a  friend  to  death,  or,  according  to  a  more 
popular  colloquial  phrase,  "  killing  a  person  with  kindness." 
The  saying,  no  doubt,  alludes  to  the  ancient  drinking  customs 
of  Newcastle  and  Northumberland — customs  now  happily,  to 
a  great  extent,  laid  aside.  In  those  good  old  times  no  one  was 
permitted  to  leave  the  room  until  he  fell  dead  drunk  under  the 
table,  or  was  obliged  to  be  carried  out.  For  further  illustra- 
tions of  the  above  follies,  see  St.  James's  Magazine,  ii.,  449. 

1 1 .  A  quayside  shaver.  •  ^ 

This  saying  evidently  alludes  to  the  ancient  practice  of 
shaving  on  the  open  quay  by  men  and  women,  which  latter, 
curiously  enough,  appear  to  have  followed  the  same  capacity  for 
two  hundred  years  or  upwards.  Early  in  the  seventeenth 
century  we  find  them  accused  of  letting  blood,  a  procedure 
which  raised  the  ire  of  barber  chirurgeons,  who,  of  course, 
counted  all  phlebotomy  private  property.  For  further  illustra- 
tions see  Ibid,  ii.,  413.  [But  a  shaver  is  a  common  phrase 
everywhere.] 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.      297 
12.  She's  a  Sandhiller. 

Any  celebrated  female  blackguard  is  so  termed  in  the  counties 
of  Durham  and  Yorkshire.  I  never  heard  it  applied  to  any  other 
than  the  fair  sex.  It  most  evidently  has  derived  its  popular  exis- 
tence from  Sandhill,  in  Newcastle.  Parallel  with  the  above  is 
the  metropolitan  expression,  a  Billingsgate,  which  Mr.  Grose, 
in  his  collection  of  Local  Proverbs,  says  is  spoken  of  those  ladies 
who  are  '*  not  famous  for  their  politeness  of  address,  delicacy  of 
language,  or  patience  and  long  suffering."  Mr.  Brockett  says 
that  the  Sandhillcrs  and  Sandgaters  certainly  give  fine  specimens 
of  what  Quintilian  calls  canina  eloqueniia. 

[Mr.  Brockett  gives  "  Sandgate  city,  a  burlesque  name  for 
Sandgate,  Newcastle."  '■''  Sandgate-ring,  a  particular  mode  of 
lighting  a  tobacco  pipe,  which  I  am  unable  to  describe."] 

Here  lies  Robin  Wallis, 

The  prince  of  good  fellows, 

Clerk  of  AHhallows, 
;     '     ,    ■  And  maker  of  Bellows ; 

He  bellows  did  make  to  the  day  of  liis  death, 

But  he  that  made  bellows  conld  never  make  breath. 

An  epitaph  said  to  have  existed  in  the  old  church  of  All 
Hallows,  but  I  don't  believe  it. 

14.  Cock's  four  canny  hinnies. 

They  were  the  daughters  and  co-heirefses  of  Alderman  Kalph 
Cock,  of  Newcastle. 

15.  As  rich  as  Cock's  canny  hinnies. 

The  above  proverb  was  no  doubt  highly  popular,  not  only  in 
the  days  of  the  worthy  Alderman,  but  also  during  a  long  subse- 
q^uent  period. 


298  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

16.  Hob  Collingwood. 

A  name  given  in  Newcastle  to  tlie  four  of  hearts,  in  the  game 
of  whist.  Old  ladies  in  general  look  upon  it  as  proverbially  un- 
lucky.   Qy.,  why  so  called  ? 

17.  He's  getting  into  limbo — up  the  nineteen  steps. 

That  is,  he  is  under  confinement  in  Newcastle  Old  Gaol — 
the  Castle  Keep — [a  stone  jacket,  Newcastle]. 

[As  far  back  as  1569  Newgate  is  mentioned  as  a  place  of 
confinement  for  offenders.  ''  One  Janet  Cooke  was  spoken  of 
in  reproach  of  having  stolen  a  purse,"  and  was  carried  to  the 
New  Yaite  for  the  same."  Depositions,  ^*c.  from  the  Courts  at 
Durham^  p.  68. — J.  H.] 


18.  Newcastle  Scots  are  the  worst  of  all  Scots. 

Qy.  Does  this  allude  to  the  natives  of  the  Land  o'  Cakes 
resident  in  Newcastle,  or  to  a  Newcastle  family  bearing  ye 
above  popular  and  honourable  surname  of  Scot  ?  Maybe  the 
proverb  simply  means  that  he  who  turns  his  coat  becomes  more 
bigotted  to  his  new  love  than  the  genuine  professor.  [Is  applied 
to  Newcastle  pedling  merchants,  who  exact  great  profits  and 
are  mostly  Scots^  called  menage  men.] 

A  valued  correspondent  informs  me  that  the  proverbial 
phrase  was,  at  no  distant  period,  much  used  in  London,  in 
contempt  of  Northern  Greens  or  Johnny  Raws. 


19.  Like  will  to  like,  as  the  Devil  said  to  the  Newcastle  collier ; 
Or  as  the  scabbed  Squire  said  to  the  mangy  Knyght,  when 

they  both  met  over  a  dish  of  buttered  fish. 
Tel  pot,  tel  couvcrcle. —  Cotgrave. 


POPULAE  EHYMES;  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.      299 

20.  A  quayside  umbrella. 

A  swill  or  kind  of  basket  formed  of  mipeeled  willows,  which 
is  generally  carried  on  the  head  of  a  certain  class  of  females. 
When  the  weather  is  wet  and  the  basket  is  empty,  they  in- 
variably wear  it  topsy  turvey :  hence  the  Newcastle  name. 


21.  "Nog,  noo,  canny  judge  ;  play  the  reet  caird,  and  it's  a  deed 
pig,"  quoth  the  Mayor  of  Newcastle. 

"  Deed  "  is  '*dead  "  ;  and  a  "  dead  pig  ^'  signifies  that  ''  it  is 
all  over  with  anything." 

There  is  a  good  story  told  of  a  quondam  alderman  of  New- 
castle, that  when  mayor,  playing  at  whist  with  the  late  Judge 
Buller,  and  having  nine  and  six  tricks,  he  called  aloud  in  a 
transport  of  joy,  "  Noo,  noo,  canny  judge,  play  the  reet  caird," 
&c. 

22.  0  base  mault, 

Thou  didst  the  fault. 
And  into  Tyne  thou  shalt. 

Henry  Wallis,  a  master  shipwright  of  the  town,  having  been 
guilty,  while  in  his  cups,  of  abusing  Alderman  Barnes,  was 
committed  to  the  tower  on  Tyne  Bridge,  where,  finding  a 
quantity  of  malt  lying  in  the  chamber  wherein  he  was  confined, 
he  threw  it  all  out  of  the  prison  window  with  a  shovel  into  the 
water  of  Tyne,  amusing  himself  the  while  with  singing  the 
triplet  quoted  above. 

23.  A  Sandgate  rattle. 

A  peculiar  kind  of  step  in  vulgar  dancing,  consisting  of  a 
quick  and  violent  beating  of  the  heels  and  toes  on  the  floor. 
— [Brockett.) 


300  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

24.  Mr.  Bryson,  on  Tyne  Brigg, 

An  upright,  downright,  honest  Whig. 

The  superscription  on  a  letter  from  the  celebrated  Allan 
Ramsay.  Martin  Bryson,  was  a  bookseller  of  respectability  and 
worth,  dwelling  as  above. — Sykes's  Local  JRecords,  vol.  i. 
p.  224. 

Section  II. — The  Town. 

25.       As  old  as  Pandon. 

V.  As  old  as  Pandon  Yatts. 

The  first  form  of  the  proverb  is  given  by  Grey,  1649.  The 
latter  is  used  in  the  southern  portions  of  the  Bishopric  and  the 
county  of  York.  Pandon  was  anciently  spelled  ''  Pampdene." 
Nothing  is  more  general  than  the  above  saying,  when  any  one 
would  describe  the  great  antiquity  of  anything.  Pandon  gate 
is  believed  to  have  been  of  Roman  workmanship.  It  had  large 
folding  iron  gates  but  no  portcullis,  and  was  ascended  by  a 
flight  of  stairs  two  yards  wide.  Camden  remarks,  "  At  Pandon- 
gate  there  still  remains  one  of  ye  little  turrets  of  Severus's 
wall."  Recent  discoveries  have  proved  the  Nourice  of  Anti- 
quity to  be  in  error  here,  as  the  Roman  wall  passed  in  almost 
a  rectangular  direction  with  that  of  the  town  wall,  and  in  a  line 
with  the  gate  called  "  Sallyport."  Still,  this  does  not  disturb 
or  gainsay  the  extreme  antiquity  of  Pandon  Yatts. 

Pandon  was  anciently  a  distinct  town  from  Newcastle,  but 
was  united  thereto  by  a  charter  of  Edward  I.  The  kings  of 
Northumberland,  after  the  departure  of  the  Romans,  are  said  to 
have  had  one  of  their  palaces  at  Pandon. 

26.  The  nine  trades  of  Newcastle. 

There  are  or  were  nine  trading  companies  in  Newcastle,  to 
wit:  three  of  wood,  three  of  thread,  and  three  of  leather,    "  The 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.      301 

meeting  of  the  Nine  Trades."     Their  place  of  meeting  was  in 
the  house  of  the  Grey  Friars. 

28.  Like  carrying  coals  to  Newcastle. 

To  give  to  them  who  liave  already  more  than  sufficiency. 
In  the  environs  of  Newcastle  are  most  of  the  coal  mines  which 
supply  London  and  numerous  other  places.  The  common 
proverb  is  quoted  by  Mr.  Disraeli  to  show  that  scarcely  any 
remarkable  saying  can  be  considered  national,  but  that  every 
one  has  some  type  or  corresponding  idea  in  other  languages. 
In  this  instance  the  Persians  have  to  carry  pe]:)per  to  Hindostan, 
the  Hebrews  to  carry  oil  to  the  City  of  Olives,  which  is  exactly 
the  same  metaphor  in  oriental  language.  In  Scotland  they 
have,  to  carry  salt  to  Dysart,  and  puddings  to  Tranent ;  the 
Greeks  to  carry  owls  to  Athens  ;  and  the  Italians,  &c.  to  carry 
indulgences  to  Rome.  In  conclusion,  take  the  following  extract 
from  a  modern  writer :  a  certain  Irish  looking  "  operation  and 
the  traffick  going  on  at  Newcastle  are  a  practical  refutation  of 
the  two  old  sayings,  which  express  a  reversal  of  the  right  order 
of  things ;  for  here  the  honest  folks  literally  prove  that  it  is 
very  good  sense  "to  put  the  cart  before  the  horse  "  and  "  to 
carry  coals  to  Newcastle." 

29.  You  must  go  to  GatesiJe  to  hear  Newcastle  news. 

A  common  figure  of  speech.  Gateside,  the  popular  name 
of  Gateshead.  "  And  yet  sic  a  mater  nather  does  the  kirk 
civilie  nor  the  counsall  or  Parliament  ecclesiasticallie  intreat — 
dXia  jXavKa^  eh  'AO^vw; — salt  to  Dysart,  or  colles  to  New- 
castle!"—Melville's  ^i^toJio^mp/*^  (1583)  i.,  163  (Wodrow  Soc.) 

30.  A  Scotcliman,  a  rat,  and  a  Newcastle  millstone  will  travel  all 
the  world  over. 

A  commendable  spirit  of  enterprise  and  industry  induces  the 


302  THE  DENHAM  TEACTS. 

natives  of  Scotland  to  seek  their  fortunes  in  all  climates  and 
kingdoms  under  the  sun.  The  following  epigrammatic  couplet 
is  from  the  pen  of  [Cleveland]  * 

"  Had  Cain  been  Scot,  God  would  have  changed  his  doom, 
Nor  forced  him  to  wandei*,  but  confined  him  at  home." 

The  propensity  of  our  northern  neighbours  is  further  celebrated 
in  proverb  lore  by  the  following  : — the  Englishman  greets,  the 
Irishman  sleeps,  but  the  Scotchman  gangs  till  he  gets  it. 

JNIr.  Southey,  in  his  Literary  Pastimes,  vol.  vii.,  describes  the 
rat  as  the  enemy  of  man,  "  a  bold  Borderer,  a  Johnny  Armstrong, 
or  Rob  Roy,  who  acknowledges  no  right  of  property  in  others, 
and  lives  by  spoil.  Wherever  man  goes  rat  follows  or  accom- 
panies him.  Town  or  country  are  equally  agreeable  to  him. 
The  adventurous  merchant  ships  a  cargo  to  some  distant  port, 
rat  goes  with  it.  Great  Britain  plants  a  colony  in  Botany  Bay, 
Van  Diemen's  Land,  or  at  Swan  River,  rat  takes  the  oppor- 
tunity of  colonising  there  also.  Rat  embarks  as  a  volunteer. 
He  doubled  the  Cape  with  Diaz,  embarked  at  Malabar  in  the 
first  European  vessel  with  Gama,  discovered  the  New  World 
with  Columbus,  and  took  possession  of  it  at  the  same  time  ;  and 
circumnavigated  the  globe  with  Magellan,  and  with  Drake  and 
with  Cook." 

Newcastle  grindstones  (magnified  into  millstones  by  the 
popular  proverb)  being  the  first  of  their  kind,  are  therefore 
known  and  carried  everywhere.  In  1776,  560  grindstones 
were  exported  to  Holland  from  Newcastle  ;  467  to  France ; 
139  to  Germany;  12  to  England;  155  to  Prussia;  QQ  to 
Russia ;  15  to  Sweden,  &c.  They  are  chiefly  won  at  Byker 
Hill,  Whickham  Banks,  and  Gateshead  Fell. 

*  Churchill  in  Mr.  Denham's  copy,  but  the  lines  are  Cleveland's. 


POPUIAR  EHYMESj  ETC.^  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.       303 

A  Scotsman,  a  crow,  and  a  ^Newcastle  grindstone. 

According  to  tlie  sailor's  proverb,  "  there  is  no  part  of  the 
world  in  which  you  cannot  find  a  Scotsman,  a  crow,  and  a  New- 
castle grindstone." — Scotsman  Newspaper^  July  4th,  1860. 

A  rat,  a  Scot,  and  a  Newcastle  grindstone  wherever  you  go. 

Among  other  commodities  Newcastle  is  famous  for  its  grind- 
stones, the  material  of  which,  however,  comes  from  the  quarries 
in  Durham  county.  Upon  this  circumstance  is  founded  a 
satirical  proverb,  which  the  natives  of  South  Britain  are  very 
fond  of  quoting  to  any  Scot  who  may  be  sojourning  among 
them;  it  is  this,  "A  rat,  a  Scot,  and  a  Newcastle  grindstone, 
wherever  you  go ; "  by  which  it  is  intimated  that  a  Scot 
always  takes  but  never  gives.  As  to  the  ambulatory  propensities 
and  habits  of  the  Scot,  we  deem  it  more  a  compliment  than 
otherwise,  and  but  pitliily  descriptive  of  the  adventuous  spirit  of 
the  nation  : 

"  Mirth  makes  them  not  mad, 
Nor  sobriety  sad, 

But  of  that  they  are  seldom  in  danger  ; 
At  Paris,  at  Rome, 
At  the  Hague,  they're  at  home, 

The  kind  canny  Scot  is  nowhere  a  stranger." 
Psedeutes  in  Hogg's  Instructor,  ii.,  p.  47.  (2nd  ser.) — J.  H. 

31.  Gotham. 

A  cant  name  for  this  canny  town. 

"  Heaven  prosper  thee,  Goatham  !  thou  famous  old  town, 
Of  the  Tyne  the  chief  glory  and  pride  ; 
May  thy  heroes  acquire  immortal  renown. 

On  the  dread  field  of  Mars  when  they're  tried." 

Song — Kiver  awa. 


304  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

I  should  su])pose  tl)iit  Newcastle  acquired  this  unenviable 
name  about  the  year  1649,  when  the  Common  Council  com- 
missioned two  of  the  town  Serjeants  to  go  into  Scotland  for  the 
witch-finder  ;  if  not  in  1645,  when  they  obtained  the  Lee-Penny 
to  cure  the  plague,  which  was  then  ravaging  the  town. 

Many  years  ago  a  squib  appeared  in  Newcastle  the  title  of 
which  was  The  Chronicles  of  Gotham.  It  had  reference  to  the 
improvements  made  in  the  town  when  Dean  Street  and  Mosley 
Street  were  formed.  It  was  directed  chiefly  against  the  Cor- 
poration, and  was,  I  understand,  well  executed.  The  late  Mr. 
Nathaniel  Clayton,  and  Mr.  David  Stevenson,  the  architect  of 
i^.ll  Saints  Church,  are  the  principal  interlocutors. 

The  nickname  of  Gotham  is  not  singular  in  its  application  to 
Canny  Newcastle :  for  it  is  an  historical  fact  that  it  has  been 
applied  to  many  other  towns  in  squibs  and  crackers,  wherein 
the  leading  inhabitants  were  joked.  Indeed  we  may  imagine — 
nay  assert — that  the  words  Gotham  and  Gothamite  have  been 
applied  to  almost  every  inhabitant,  and  town,  and  village  in  the 
kingdom. 

32.  Croakumshire. 

A  cant  name  for  the  whole  comity  of  Northumberland,  in 
which  Newcastle  may  be  included ;  arising  from  the  peculiar 
croaking  in  the  pronunciation  of  the  inhabitants.  Grose  says, 
"  The  people  are  born  with  a  burr  in  their  throats." 

33.  Burcastle. 

Tlie  capital  of  Croakumshire. 

34.  If  we  cannot  win  the  Old  Castle  we  must  win  the  New  Castle. 

Spoken  by  those  wdio,  from  ill  success  in  one  business,  are 
forced  to  try  another.  The  saying  doubtless  had  its  origin 
thus : — 


POPULAB  EHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.      305 

Rufus,  the  son  of  William  the  Conqueror,  being  sent  by  his 
father  against  the  Northumbrian  insurgents^  then  in  possession 
of  Prudhoe  Castle  (about  ten  miles  west  from  Monkchester),  is 
said  to  have  deferred  the  siege  of  that  fortress  till  the  ensuing 
spring,  and  to  have  garrisoned  his  troops  during  the  winter  at 
Monkchester,  where  he  employed  his  soldiers  in  building  the 
castle,  on  which  occasion  he  remarked  that,  if  we  cannot  take 
the  Old  we  will  at  least  build  a  New  Castle. 

After  the  completion  of  the  castle,  the  ancient  name  of 
Monkchester  was  discarded,  and  that  of  Newcastle  given,  which 
may  it  retain  for  ever. 


35.  My  altitude  high,  my  body  four-square, 
My  foot  in  tlie  grave,  my  head  in  the  ayre, 
My  eyes  in  my  side,  five  tongues  in  my  wombe, 
Thirteen  heads  upon  my  body,  four  images  alone ; 
I  can  direct  you  where  the  winde  doth  stay, 
And  I  tune  God's  precepts  thrice  a  day. 
I  am  seen  where  I  am  not,  I  am  heard  where  I  is  not. 
Tell  me  now  where  I  am,  and  see  that  you  misse  not. 

Grey  in  his  ChorograpMa,  or  a  Survey  of  Newcastle-upon- 
Tyne  (1649),  attributes  this  enigma  on  the  steeple  of  St. 
Nicholas'  Church,  to  Ben  Jonson,  and  further  says : — It  lifletb 
up  a  head  of  majesty,  as  high  above  the  rest  as  the  cypress  tree 
above  the  low  shrubs. 

[Verum  haec  tantum  alias  inter  caput  extulit  urbes, 
Quantum  lenta  sclent  inter  viburna  cupressi. 

Virgil,  Ec.  1.] 


36.  Calf-yard. 

A  proverbial  phrase  made  use  of  to  express  the  place  of  a 


806        .  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

person's    birth.      It    is    likewise    the    Newcastle    man's    fire- 
side. 

Aw've  leern'd  to  prefer  my  awn  canny  calf-yaird, 

If  ye  catch  me  mair  fra'et  ye'll  be  cnnnun. 

Song,  "  Canny  Newcastle." 

37.  Newcastle  Castle  won't  stand  for  ever. 

Spoken  in  reply  to  those  who  give  utterance  to  expressions 
of  astonishment  at  the  short  duration  9f  anything. 

38.  Barge-day. 

Ascension  day.  So  called  in  Newcastle  from  the  annual 
aquatic  procession  of  the  corporate  body  on  that  day. 

39.  Eide  through  Sandgate,  both  up  and  down, 

There  you'll  see  the  gallants  fighting  for  the  crown ; 

All  the  cull  cuckolds  in  Sunderland  town, 

"With  all  the  bonnie  blue-caps  cannot  pull  them  down. 

The  above  is  supposed  to  be  a  fragment  of  a  song  on  the  siege 
of  Newcastle  by  Leslie  and  the  Scots.  The  blue-caps  (Scotch- 
men) did,  however,  after  a  most  gallant  defence,  at  last  succeed 
in  pulling  them  down,  19tli  October,  1644. — Sharp's  Bish. 
Garl. 

40.  Black  Indies. 

Newcastle  and  the  surrounding  district  is  so  called  in  conse- 
quence of  its  immense  wealth  in  coals. 

41.  Black  diamonds. 

Coals  are  so  proverbially  called  in  the  North  of  England,  more 
particularly  in  the  vicinage  of  Newcastle. 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.      307 

42.  Of  all  the  churches  in  our  land, 
Let  them  be  ne'er  so  braw  ; 
St.  Nicholas,  of  Newcastle  town, 
Yet  fairly  bangs  them  a'. 

The  inhabitants  of  this  town  are  justly  proud  of  their 
singularly  beautiful  specimen  of  architecture — the  steeple  of 
St.  Nicholas's  Church.  This  tower  has  been  in  danger  of 
destruction  by  ravages  of  war.  In  October,  1644,  when  the 
town  was  besieged  by  the  Scottish  forces,  the  general  pointed 
his  cannon  at  St.  Nicholas,  and  declared  he  would  blow  it  down 
unless  the  town  capitulated.  It  is  said  that  the  mayor.  Sir  John 
Marley,  immediately  caused  the  chief  of  the  Scottish  prisoners,  of 
whom  they  had  a  considerable  number,  to  be  so  disposed  upon 
and  around  the  steeple,  that  its  destruction  must  have  been  fatal 
to  them.  "  Our  enemies,"  he  said,  "  shall  also  fall  with  us,  or 
preserve  us,"     The  tower  was  consequently  saved. 

"  Long  has  it  stood  ilk  bitter  blast, 
And  longer  may  it  stand, 
As  it  has  been  for  ages  past, 
A  pattern  to  our  land. 


"  Then  long  may  fam'd  St.  Nicholas  stand. 
Before  it  does  come  down, 
That  when  we  dee,  our  bairns  may  see 
The  beauty  of  that  town." 

— Local  Song. 


43.  Templum,  Portus,  Castrum,  Carbo,  Salina,  Molaris, 
Murus,  Pons,  Salmo,  Schola,  sunt  Novi  gloria  Castri. 

The  ten  celebrities  of  Newcastle  are  most  learnedly  chronicled 
in  the  above  Latin  distich  by  an  ingenious  author. 

X  2 


308  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

In  one  day,  12th  June,  1755,  not  fewer  than  two  thousand 
four  hundred  salmon  were  taken  in  the  Tyne,  and  sold  in  New- 
castle market  at  a  penny  and  a  penny  farthing  a  pound. 

44.  The  Newcastle  muck-midden. 

The  wonderful  dunghill  so  celebrated  in  the  history  of  New- 
castle existed  at  the  west  end  of  the  castle  keep,  and  owing  to 
its  extending  a  very  great  height  up  the  building,  damages  were 
done  to  it  to  the  amount  of  £120.  This  "  outrageous^'  muck- 
midden,  which  had  been  many  centuries  no  doubt  in  collecting, 
was  removed,  in  1664,  by  Sir  John  Marley,  and  used  to  make 
a  rampart  on  the  town  walls  against  the  Scots.  This  place  was, 
as  it  were,  the  common  mixen  or  dunghill  of  the  entire  town. 

45.  The  Thief  and  Reaver  bell. 

The  proverbial  name  given  to  the  tolling  of  the  great  bell  of 
the  church  of  St.  Nicholas,  in  Newcastle-on-Tyne.  From  time 
immemorial  this  bell  has  been  rung  at  eight  o'clock  in  the 
evening  preceding  every  fair  as  a  kind  of  invitation  or  pro- 
clamation that  all  manner  of  whores,  thieves,  dice-players,  and 
all  other  manner  of  unthrifty  folks  be  welcome  to  enter  the  good 
town,  whether  they  come  early  or  late. 

The  "privileged  fairs"  granted  protection  to  this  class  only 
so  far  as  they  should  not  be  then  and  there  apprehended  for  any 
theft  or  misdemeanour,  save  and  except  the  crime  was  com- 
mitted at  or  during  the  fair.  This  protection  caused  multitudes 
of  loose  persons  of  both  sexes  to  resort  to  fairs  of  this  descrip- 
tion, who  otherwise  durst  not  have  appeared  in  public. 

46.  Newcastle  Assize  Ehymes. 

In  accordance  with  common  tradition  the  following  are  the 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.      309 

words  of  the  tune  played  by  the  trumpeters  before  "  my  lord 
judge  "  on  entering  the  town  to  hold  "  the  circuit."  They  will 
remind  the  reader  of  Bow  Bells  and  Dick  Whittington : — 

The  judge  is  here  !  Ans.  The  judge  is  here  ! 

Who  is  clear  I  am  clear 

Need  not  fear  !  And  have  no  fear. 

The  Aberdeen  rhymes  on  a  similar  occasion  are  nearly  the 
same.     See  Eclectic  Review,  1847,  p.  233. —  [J.H.] 

47.  Canny  Newcastle. 

In  the  dialect  of  the  north,  the  word  canny  means  fine,  neat, 
clean,  handsome,  becoming,  honest,  &c.  This  explanation  is 
spoken  jocularly  to  the  natives  of  Newcastle  as  a  gird  on  them 
for  their  partiality  to  their  native  town.  By  the  pitmen  New- 
castle is  esteemed  as  the  centre  of  the  world  of  civilization. 

"  God  bless  the  king  and  nation, 
Each  bravely  fills  his  station, 
Our  canny  corporation, 

Lang  may  they  sing  wi'  me." 

Song—"  The  Keel  Row." 


RHYMES  AND  PROVERBS  ON  THE  RIVERS  AND 
MOUNTAINS  OF   NORTHUMBERLAND. 

Rivers. 
1.  The  Coaly  Tyne. 

The  pride  which  the  people  of  Newcastle  take  in  their  noble 
river  absolutely  amounts  to  a  passion ;  they  speak  of  it  with  a 


310  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

"warmth  of  affection  which  stnuigers  can  with  difficulty  under- 
stand ;  they  celebrate  it  in  their  local  songs,  and  a  word  said  in 
its  depreciation  is  resented  as  an  insult.  The  keelnien  are  fre- 
quently heard  singing  some  of  the  songs  written  in  honour  of 
their  stream,  and  the  following  strain  is  almost  sure  to  be  heard 
by  every  visitor  of  Newcastle  : — 

"  Tyne  river  running  rough  or  smooth, 
Makes  bread  for  me  and  mine  ; 
Of  all  the  rivers  north  or  south, 
There's  none  like  coaly  Tyne. 

"  So  here's  to  coaly  Tyne,  my  lads, 
Success  to  coaly  Tyne, 
Of  all  the  rivers  north  or  south. 
There's  none  like  coaly  Tyne." 

It  is  not  surprising  that  the  people  of  Newcastle  should  be  so 
fond  of  their  noble  river,  for  it  is  difficult  to  describe  the  un- 
interrupted scene  of  activity  and  wealth  exhibited  along  its 
banks  from  New  burn  to  the  lighthouse  at  North  Shields,  a 
distance  of  ]  7  miles. 


2.  The  Tyne,  the  Tees,  the  Till,  the  Tarset,  and  the  Tweed, 
The  Alne,  the  Blyth,  the  Font,  the  Tarret,  and  the  Reed. 

The  above,  with  iane  exception,  are  the  names  of  the  principal 
Northumbrian  rivers  or  their  tributaries. 


3.  The  Tees,  the  Tyne,  and  Tweed,  the  Tarset  and  the  Till, 
The  Team,  the  Font,  and  Pont,  the  Tippal  and  the  Dill. 

A  mere  variation  of  No.  2,  with  the  names  of  a  few  other 
8trea,m§. 


POPULAE  EHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  NOETHUMBEELAND.      311 

4.  Tweed  said  to  Till, 

"  What  makes  j'c  run  so  still  ?  " 
Till  said  to  Tweed, 
"  Tlio'  ye  run  wi'  speed, 
And  I  run  slaw, 
Yet,  where  ye  drown  ae  man 
I  drown  twa." 


In  general  the  Tweed  is  a  broad,  shallow,  and  rapid  river, 
well  supplied  with  fords  or  waths.  Its  southern  tributary,  the 
Till,  is,  on  the  contrary,  narrow,  deep,  and  slow,  with  few  or  no 
fords.  The  comparatively  greater  danger  of  the  Till  to  those 
attempting  to  cross  it  is  expressed  in  the  above  verses. 

See  Chambers'  Popular  Rhymes  of  Scotland,  p.  8,  3rd  ed., 
1847,  than  which  a  more  delightful  book  on  popular  archaeology 
was  never  written. 


The  following  are  variorum  readings  of  the  above  rhymes  : — 

5.  Tweed  said  to  Till, 

"  "What  gars  ye  rin  sae  still  ?  " 
Till  said  to  Tweed, 

"  What  gars  ye  rin  sae  gleed  ? 
For  as  slow  as  I  go, 
And  as  hard  as  ye  rin, 
A  can  drown  twae  men 
"When  ye  can  drown  but  yin." 

Berwickshire  version. — J.H.] 


Till  said  to  Tweed, 

"  "What  makes  ye  rin  sae  reed  ?  "  [i.e.  red]. 
Tweed  said  to  Till, 

*'  What  makes  ye  rin  sae  still  ? " 


312  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

Till  said  to  Tweed, 
"  Though  fast  ye  rin, 
And  still  I  gaun, 
Yet  I  drown  twae  men 
Where  ye  drown  yen." 

Wooler  version. — [J.H.] 

Still  further  variations  exist. 


7.  One  mile  of  Tyne's  worth  ten  o'  Tweed, 

Except  for  beef  and  salmon  and  good  brown  breed. 

A  great  truth  told  in  a  few  words.     Breed,  i.e.,  bread. 
[In  Berwickshire  it  is  said  : 

"  A  mile  o'  Tweed's  worth  twa  o'  Dee, 
Except  it  be  for  bush  or  tree." 

Var.— A  mile  o'  Don,  &c.— J.H.] 


8.  Says  the  Pont  to  the  Blyth, 

"  Where  thou  drowns  yan,  I  drown  five  !  " 
Says  the  Blyth  to  the  Pont, 
"  The  mair  shame  on't." 

The  Pont  and  Blyth  are  two  rivers  in  Northumberland.  The 
Pont  rises  a  little  to  the  south  of  St.  Oswald's,  in  the  parish 
of  St.  John  Lee,  and  after  passing  through  Ponteland,  to 
the  west  of  what  was  once  Prestwick  Carr,  it  empties  itself  into 
the  Cat-raw,  which  proceeds  in  a  north-easterly  direction  to 
Stannington  Vale,  and  assumes  the  name  of  the  Blyth  river, 
under  which  name  the  united  streams  flow  to  the  sea  at  Blyth- 
nook.  The  Blyth  possesses  the  peculiar  advantage  of  being 
exempt  from  land  floods.  In  full  tides  it  has  16  feet  of  water 
at  the  bar. 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.       313 

9.  Escaped  the  Tees,  and  was  drowned  in  the  Tyne. 

The  Welsh  say,  '■'■  To  escape  Cluyd  and  be  drowned  in 
Conway." 

Observe  the  alliteration  in  both  proverbs. 

10.  Core  of  the  Coquet. 

Warton,  a  township  in  the  parish  of  Rothbury,  is  famed  in 
tlie  legendary  tales  of  its  inhabitants  as  having  been  the  resi- 
dence (>f  a  choice  race  of  warriors  who  were  the  dread  of  the 
Scottish  Borderers.  The  above  characteristic  is  spoken  of  the 
land  in  this  locality  in  token  of  the  superiority  of  the  soil. — 
[Thomas  Arkle.] 

11.  Tarsetburn  and  Tarretburn 
Yet!  Yet!  Yet! 

12.  Up  wi'  Tarset  aad  Tarretburn,  and  down  wi'  the  Eeed  and 
Tyne. 

8ee  notes  on  the  above  rhymes,  under  head  of  "  Slogans,"  in 
a  former  section. 

13.  Tarset  and  Tarsetburn, 
Up  wi'  the  Yettus  ! 

The  Yettus  or  Gatehouse,  is  a  hamlet  on  Tarset,  containing 
four  or  five  houses.  Qy.  Is  the  above  addition  modem ;  or 
has  the  Yettus  in  days  of  yore  had  a  glory  now  departed. 
[Contributed  by  Thomas  Arkle.] 

14.  The  Coquet  Water. 

The  Northumbrians  use  the  above  expression  in  a  peculiar 
sense ;  signifying  thereby  the  district  of  the  country  immediately 
adjoining  the  river  bearing  that  name. 


314 


THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 


Wenning  "  Water  side  "  is  used  in  the  ballad  of  Flodden 
Field  in  the  same  sense.  In  the  southern  parts  of  the  county  of 
Durham,  we  say  Teeswater — the  Tees- water  breed  of  sheep. 

15.  Till  the  Cruel-syke  wi'  Scottis-blode  rins  rede, 
Thoo  maun  na  sowe  corn  by  Tyne's  side. 

The  Cruel-syke  is  a  small  rivulet  high  up  on  the  Roman 
Wall.  This  locality  was  so  much  ravaged  by  the  Scottish 
Borderers,  that  it  was  of  no  use  sowing  any  crops  there.  At 
last,  however,  they  were  defeated  here,  and  the  country  had 
rest. 

16.  The  Picts  are  severed  from  the  English  ground.  • 
By  Tweed,  so-called  of  old,  a  certain  bound. 

This  couplet  is,  I  understand,  an  excerpt  from  an  old  poet, 
whose  name  I  am  not  acquainted  with. 

[The  extract  is  from  Gibson's  Camden,  fol.  1096,  and  is 
translated  from  Alexander  Necham's  (died  1217)  couplet: 

Anglos  a  Pictis  sejungit  limite  certo, 

Flumen  quod  Tuedam  pristina  lingua  vocat. — J.  H.] 

17.  Ye've  been  i'  the  haugli  anunder  Lishaw. 

EHshaw  is  a  place  on  the  north  side  of  the  Reed  about  two 
miles  above  Otterburn.  The  valley  of  the  Reed  for  the  first 
twelve  miles  of  its  course  is  comparatively  narrow,  but  after 
Elishaw  is  past  the  hills  recede  and  leave  a  considerable  breadth 
of  haughs,  which  in  times  of  floods  are  covered  with  water. 

Tradition  relates,  that  once  upon  a  time,  an  owner  of  Shittle- 
heugh,  a  farm  adjoining  Elishaw,  gave  the  Yetholm  gipsies  a 
grant  of  a  small  haugh  near  the  junction  of  Durtree  burn  with 
the  Reed.  There  the  said  gipsies  used  to  encamp,  and  during 
their  stay  had  many  merry  meetings  at  an  adjoining  public- 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.      315 

house.  One  evening  on  returning  to  their  camps  after  a  hearty 
carousal,  a  member  of  the  party  fell  into  the  river,  and  was 
carried  away  by  the  stream.  The  river  being  much  swollen 
and  the  night  dark,  his  companions  gave  him  up  for  lost. 
After  a  brief  period  they  were  surprised  and  delighted  by 
hearing  him  call  out  for  help.  They  enquired  "  Where  are 
you  ?  "  and  the  reply  was,  "  I'm  i'  the  haugh  an  under  Lishaw  ;  " 
and  this  it  is  said  was  the  origin  of  the  expression. 

To  this  day  the  haugh  is  the  resort  of  travelling  tinkers,  yet 
it  is  a  privilege  only  enjoyed  by  prescriptive  title,  the  formal 
grant  only  existing  in  the  mind  of  the  claimants.  [Thomas 
Arkle.] 

"  You'll  find  it  in  the  haugh  anunder  Lishaw," 

said  when  anything  is  lost.  All  the  refuse  swept  down  by 
floods  from  the  upper  part  of  Kedesdale  settles  or  is  arrested 
there.     [Ibid.] 

18.  My  rents  i'  the  Coquet  yet. 

The  Coquet  is  famous  for  its  salmon,  great  numbers  of  which 
are  destroyed  in  autumn  when  they  ascend  the  river  for  the 
purpose  of  spawning.  This  used  to  be  done  with  a  loio  and  a 
leister.  Formerly  bodies  of  Redesdale  (Rogues)  and  Tynedale 
(Thieves)  men  visited  the  Coquet  for  the  sake  of  its  salmon. 
Concealment  was  not  attempted  ;  the  safety  of  the  party  from 
arrest  depending  upon  its  numerical  strength  and  courage. 
Many  a  dismal  fray  arose  out  of  these  nocturnal  expeditions, 
and  fearful  wounds  were  inflicted  with  the  formidable  instru- 
ments used  in  their  pursuit.  The  Coquetsiders  are  the  only 
men  who  now  follow  this  illegal  practice  ;  and  in  favorable 
seasons  it  is  to  the  Rothbury  Idlers  a  source  of  considerable 
income  ;  so  much  so,  that  the  payment  of  the  rent  of  their 
small   holdings  frequently  depends  upon  the  success  of  their 


316  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

aquatic  exertions.  Hence  has  arisen  the  expression. — "  My  rent's 
in  the  Coquet  yet."     [Thomas  Arkle.] 

19.  Sin'  the  days  o'  Gilligacus, 

There's  been  fishers  on  the  Tweed. 

I  can  meet  with  no  satisfactory  explanation  of  these  rhymes. 
Gilligacus  is  evidently  intended  for  Galgacus. 

20.  Kothbury  Thrum  will  be  the  ruin  of  us  all. 

A  little  to  the  east  of  Rothbury  the  Coquet  flows  through  a 
narrow  gorge  with  precipitous  rocks  on  each  side.  When  the 
river  is  swollen  the  whole  of  the  bottom,  which  consists  of  solid 
stone,  is  covered  with  water;  but  in  dry  seasons  the  flow  is 
restricted  to  a  channel  some  fifteen  feet  wide,  scooped  out  of  the 
rock  by  the  powerful  and  long-continued  action  of  the  stream. 
Here  the  confined  current,  surging  and  foaming,  flows  with  great 
rapidity.  It  is  said  to  have  been  formerly  of  much  less  width, 
but  on  one  or  two  individuals  having  been  drowned  in  attempt- 
ing to  leap  across,  the  rock  was  cut  away  to  prevent  a  repetition 
of  the  experiment.  Such  is  the  place  familiarly  known  as 
Rothbmy  Thrum. 

The  above  expression  is,  or  at  least  was,  a  very  common  one 
amongst  the  seamen  on  the  Thames  (!)  and  this  affords  another 
instance  of  a  local  saying  travelling  far  from  the  place  of  its 
origin.  About  thirty-five  years  ago  a  Mr.  Taylor,  from  the 
neighbourhood  of  Rothbury,  was  stationed  near  York  as  an 
excise  officer.  During  one  of  his  rounds  he  was  accosted  by 
three  fellows  soliciting  charity  in  the  character  of  shipwrecked 
seamen.  On  inquiry  where  the  disaster  had  happened,  he  was 
told  in  Rothbury  Thrum.  Pleased  to  hear  the  name  of  a  place 
with  which  he  had  been  familiar  in  boyhood,  Mr.  Taylor  gave 
them  a  shilling,  with  the  admonition  never  more  to  make  the 
Thrum  the  scene  of  their  calamity. —  [Thomas  Arkle.] 


POPULAE  RHYMES,  ETC.,  BELATING  TO  NOETHUMBEELAND.      317 

Mount  AiKs. 

1.  When  Cheevyut  ye  see  put  on  his  cap, 
Of  rain  yelle  have  a  wee  bit  drap. 

A  Northumbrian   mountain  rhyme,  copied   from   Notes  and 

Queries^  vol.  viii.  326.     Cheevyut,  i.e.  Cheviot  hills. 

[Variety  :  Wlien  Cheviat  tap 
Puts  on  his  cap, 
Of  rain  we'll  hae'  a  wee  bit  drap.] 

2.  It's  gaun  to  be  a  wat  day  the  morn  ; 
Cheviot's  got  on  his  night -cap. 

[The  above  is  the  Wooler  version  of  the  saying.] 
[In  the  surrounding  district  they  also  say,  if  the  hill  is 
covered  with  mist  in  the  earlv  morning,  and  the  mist  descends, 
"  Cheviot's  drawn  down  his  night-cap ;  it's  going  to  be  a  wet 
day ;  "  or  if  the  mist  rises,  "  Cheviot's  put  off  his  night-cap ; 
it's  going  to  be  fine."  One  version  of  a  Roxburghshire  saying 
on  these  mist  caps  is — 

When  Cheviot  gets  on  his  cap, 

And  Ruberslaw  her  hood, 
A'  the  wives  o'  Kale  and  Beaumont 
May  expect  a  flude. 

In  the  central  parts  of  Roxburghshire  the   saying  becomes 
more  strictly  local : — 

When  Ruberslaw  puts  on  his  cowl, 

The  Dunion  on  his  hood, 
Then  a'  the  wives  o'  Teviotside 
Ken  there  will  be  a  flood. 
Or  in  another  form  : 

When  Dunion  he  puts  on  his  cap, 

And  Ruberslaw  his  hood. 

All  the  wives  in  Alewater  may  expect  a  flood.* — J.H,] 

*  Chambers'  Popular  Rhymes,  p.  374  ;  Life  and  Times  of  William 
Thamson,  p.  160, 


318  THE  DENHAM  TEACTS. 

If  Clieviot  is  thrice  white  before  the  term,  it  is  a  sign  of  an  open 
mild  winter. 

This  is  a  Wooler  saying.  The  "  term  "  meant  is  old  Martin- 
mas.    Of  similar  import  there  is  a  Roxburghshire  saying — 

"  If  there's  ice  in  November  that  will  bear  a  duck, 
There'll  be  nothing  after  but  sludge  and  muck." 

There  is  also  a  local  proverb  in  the  Baltic,  known  among 
sailors,  that  ice  having  "  early  come,  would  early  go." 

3.  The  Appenines  of  England. 

That  range  of  hills  v.diich  extends  from  Allendale  in  this 
county,  to  the  western  angle  of  the  Bishopric,  and  forms  a 
barren  region,  is  crossed  by  another  range  of  mountains  which, 
though  none  of  them  rise  to  any  height,  has  not  inaptly  been 
termed  the  Appenines  of  England. 

4.  From  John  o'  Groat's  House  to  the  Cheviot  Hills. 

A  northern  simile,  perhaps  more  Scots  than  Northumbrian. 


RHYMES,   PROVERBS,   &c.    ON   CERTAIN  TOWNS,  VIL- 
LAGES, &c.  IN  NORTHUMBERLAND. 

Rude,  rough  and  rusty  Relics  of  a  former  Age. 

Northumberland  for  ever. 

This  is  a  sort  of  cri  de  guerre  which,  when  a  young  lad,  and 
living  within  two  miles  of  the  Border,  I  have  heard  scores  of 
times.  The  occasions  on  which  I  have  heard  it  were  football 
plays,  wrestlings,  foot  races,  &c.,  in  which  the  young  men  on 


POPULAE  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.       319 

both  sides  of  the  Marches  were  assembled  as  competitors. 
Whenever  a  Coquetdale  or  Redesdale  man  distinguislied  him- 
self in  these  §ames,  his  friends  and  countrymen  never  failed  to 
give  utterance  to  their  chivalric  feelings  by  the  cry  above  quoted  ; 
for  instance,  when  a  Northumbrian  wrestler  threw  his  antagonist 
of  Teviotdale,  the  welkin  immediately  rang  with — 

Northoomberland  for  ever  ! 

From  the  MS.  gatherings  of  my  good  friend,  Mr.  James 
Telfer,  Saughtree,  Liddesdale. 

2.  Northumberland. — If  you  don't  like  it  leave  it. 

In  The  Properties  of  the  Shyres  of  England  printed  by  Heame, 
in  the  fifth  vol.  of  Leland's  Itinerary,  we  find  this  county  thus 
characterised : — 

Northumberland  hasty  and  hoot, 

"Westmerland  thrut  Scotte. 

The  saying  is  doubtless  indicative  of  the  independent  bearing 
of  tie  natives  of  the  county,  which  may  they  long  retain. 

3.  Northumberland,  the  fore  door  into  Scotland. 

This  county  is  so  termed  by  some  of  our  early  writers ;  as 
also  is  Cumberland,  the  back  door. 

The  importance  of  Berwick  induced  the  English  to  fortify 
the  town  to  the  utmost  extent  it  was  capable  of;  so  that  after 
1482  it  remained  as  a  gate  between  the  kingdoms  barred  against 
the  Scots,  but  ever  open  to  their  enemies  of  England. 

4.  The  autumn  of  the  year  is  the  summer  of  Northumberland. 

I  give  this  on  the  authority  of  Mr.  Hodgson,  the  historian  of 
Northumberland,     [This  is  not  a  popular  saying.] 


320 


THE  DBNHAM  TRACTS. 


5.  Nortlmmberland  had  almost  as  many  castles  for  defence  as 
parish  churches  for  the  service  of  God. 

This  is  an  assertion  of  Peter  Heylin,  and  he  explains  it  "  on 
account  of  bad  neighbourhood  "  In  1260  there  were  in  this 
county  thirty-seven  castles,  and  eighty-seven  towers  of  defence. 
— Local  History. 


G.  Fair  Northumberland. 

This  characteristic,  which  is  of  undoubted  antiquity,  is  used 
by  Drayton.  See  Polyolbion,  song  33.  Hear  also  the  opening 
stanzas  of  a  song  in  honor  of  this  county : — 

"  I've  roved  through  pleasant  England, 
Her  towns  and  hamlets  fair  ; 
Upon  her  shores  I've  lingered, 

And  breathed  her  mountain  air  : 
I've  seen  her  fruitful  counties 

O'er  sweeping  plains  expand ; 
But  none  like  thee  can  charm  me, 
My  own  Northumberland." 

Rohert  White. 


The  woeful  Wednesday  of  the  Wreckhill, 

The  above  sorrowful  saying,  which  has  descended  even  to  the 
present  generation,  arose  on  account  of  the  hamlet  of  Wreckhill 
(now  spelt  Wreighill)  being  pillaged  and  nearly  totally  destroyed 
by  a  numerous  party  of  Scottish  freebooters,  who  besieged  and 
killed  most  of  the  inhabitants  on  Wednesday,  the  25th  day  of 
May,  1412. 

In  1665  nearly  the  whole  of  this  village  was  swept  away  by 
the  plague,  which  was  introduced  here  in  a  small  parcel  sent 
from  London  to  Miss  Handy  side. — From  the  Local  Histories. 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.       32  I 

1.  Wide  as  Rimside  Moor. 

2.  I  wadna'  be  on  Rimside  Aloor  to-night  wi'  a  black  pig  by  the 
tail. 

3.  If  ye  were  on  Rimside  Moor  at  twelve  o'clock  at  night,  wi'  a 
black  sow  by  the  tail,  ye  wadna'  be  here  to-night  again. 

These  proverbial  sayings  the  Northumberland  yeomen  are 
wont  to  recount  on  a  dark  and  stormy  night.  Rimside  Moor  is 
a  bleak,  heathy  waste,  stretching  from  near  the  Morpeth  and 
Wooler  Road,  over  the  uplands  behind  Rothbury.  To  a  North- 
umbrian the  first  expression  conveys  an  idea  of  indefinite  extent. 
When  wrapt  in  the  darkness  of  night  the  passage  across  it,  as  in 
all  moorland  tracts,  is  particularly  dreary  and  lonesome.  In 
former  times  it  was  deemed  almost  impossible  for  a  stranger  to 
ti'averse  it  at  untimely  hours  without  loosing  himself  in  its 
trackless  wilds,  or  being  subjected  to  the  infamous  outrages  of 
the  midnight  robber.     Happily  such  is  not  the  case  now. 

The  following  specimen  of  an  old  ballad  entitled  "  The  Black 
"Sow  o'  Rimside  and  the  Monks  of  the  Holy  Island,"  is  illustra- 
tive of  the  goodly  things  the  holy  men  of  the  sacred  isle  were 
accustomed  to  derive  from  their  possessions  on  the  mainland,  in 
the  production  of  which  dainties  those  places,  as  their  name 
would  impart,  have  enjoyed  a  long  and  deserved  celebrity : — 

From  Goswick  we've  geese,  and  from  Cheswick  we've  cheese, 

From  Buckton  we've  ven'son  in  store ; 
From  Swinhoe  we've  bacon,  but  the  Scots  have  it  taken, 

And  the  Prior  is  longing  for  more. 

Local  Hist.  Table  Booh,  Leg.,  Div.  iii,  34,  35.  Raine's 
North  Durham,  p.  181. 

[The  anonymous  article  from  which  this  is  taken  in  the 
Tahle  Book  was  of  my  contribution.  The  supposed  old  ballad 
''  The  Black  Sow  o'  Rimside."  &c.  (perhaps  suggested  as  to 
title  by  "  The  Felon  Sow  of  Rokeby,  and  the  Friars  of  Rich- 


322  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

mond  "),  had,  I  believe,  never  any  existence ;  and  the  Eev. 
James  Raine  may  be  credited  with  the  authorship  of  the  four 
lines  quoted.  The  saying  "  It  would  be  a  hard  task  to  follow  a 
black  dockit  sow  through  a  burnt  muir  this  night,"  occurs  in 
Hislop's  Scottish  Proverbs,  p.  192.  In  a  poem,  The  Cottagers  of 
Glendale,  in  H.  S.  Riddell's  Poems,  p.  13,  the  saying  crops  up 
in  the  dark  hills  on  the  confines  of  Selkirk  and  Peebleshire  : — 

"  Guid  help  them  that  are  out  the  night," 

Said  the  auld  man  in  private  ; 
''  If  set  them  on  o'  Minchmoor  Head, 
Wi'  black  sow  by  the  tail  (o  lead, 

They  wadna'  laug  survive  it." — J.  H.] 

Blaydon  bred 
And  Meldon  fed. 
But  Dilston  ha' 
Destroyed  it  a'. 

These  rhymes  evidently  relate  to  the  cattle  bred  at  Blaydon, 
parish  of  Ryton,  in  the  Bishopric,  and  fed  on  the  rich  pasturage 
of  Meldon,  which  were  all  consumed  in  the  munificent  hos- 
pitality of  the  Derwentwater  family. — J.  H.] 

["  Scotland  breeds,  and  England  feeds,"  is  an  old  proverb, 
obsolete  since  the  turnip  husbandry  was  introduced. — Hogg's 
Shepherd's  Guide,  p.  294.] 

According  to  R.  W.,  the  author  of  Cheviot,  a  poetical  fragment, 
Dilston  became  celebrated  in  history  at  a  very  early  period,  in 
fact,  immediately  preceding  the  evangelising  of  the  people  of 
Northumbria ;  and  in  a  fashion  too  far  dififerent  to  the  hospi- 
talities of  a  festive  board. 

At  Dilston,  RatcHffe's  house,  renowned  in  fight, 
St.  Oswald,  the  Devil  Cedwell  put  to  flight, 
Oswald,  his  cause  and  resolution  good, 
Turned  to  a  field  of  Heav'n — a  field  of  blood. 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.^  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.      323 

[According  to  some,  Hefenfeld,  where  Cadwallo  perished,  is 
Bingfield.  — Turner's  Hist,  of  Anglo- Saxons,  \).  288.] 


Gallaly  Castle  stands  on  a  height, 
Up  in  the  day  and  down  in  the  night ; 
Set  it  up  on  the  Shepherd's  Shaw, 
There  it  will  stand  and  never  fa'. 

[Another  reading  is  "  Callaly  ha'  stands  upon  a  height."] 
Like  many  other  ancient  structures  Callaly  Castle  was  not 
built  without  the  manifestation  of  supernatural  agency.  It  was 
originally  designed  to  erect  it  on  a  hill  not  far  from  that  on 
which  the  present  castle  stands,  but  the  interposition  of  an 
invisible  agent  compelled  the  builders  to  adopt  a  new  site.  At 
the  first  commencement  of  the  building,  the  work  done  during 
the  day  was  in  unaccountable  manner  levelled  with  the  ground 
during  the  night.  To  discover  the  reason  of  this  mysterious 
interruption  a  watch  was  set,  which  remained  till  midnight 
without  witnessing  any  symptoms  of  injury  or  hostility  to  the 
work ;  suddenly,  however,  a  strange  commotion  was  perceived 
to  have  commenced  among  the  closely  compacted  materials. 
Each  individual  stone  gradually  rose  upon  its  end  and  fell 
noiselessly  to  the  ground.  No  agency  was  discernible ;  but  the 
process  of  demolition  gradually  proceeded  till  the  whole  masonry 
was  once  more  reduced  to  a  ruinous  heap,  and  then  a  loud  voice 
giving  utterance  to  the  above  prophetic  rhymes  was  heard 
issuing  from  the  midst  of  the  ruins.  The  site  was  forthwith 
abandoned,  and,  the  work  being  recommenced  on  the  spot 
pointed  out,  Callaly  Castle  in  due  season  became  proud  in  the 
grandeur  of  her  stern  battlements  and  defended  with  the  valiant 
arm  of  a  warlike  race  bade,  during  a  lengthened  period,  defiance 
to  both  foe  and  time. 

An  old  tower  alone  remains  of  the  ancient  edifice.      The 

Y  2 


324  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

modern  mansion  was  the  seat  of  tlie  family  of  Clavering,  who 
liacl  been  settled  there  from  a  remote  period.  It  has  recently 
become  the  property  of  Major  Browne. 

[The  illustration  is  borrowed  from  my  article  on  the  subject 
in  Richardson's  Table  Booh,  iii.,  p.  109.  I  obtained  the  infor- 
mation from  a  native  of  Tyneside.  But  there  is  another  side  of 
the  legend,  although  not  quite  so  poetical,  for  it  reduces  it  to  a 
sham,  which  has  been  given  by  Mr.  George  Tate,  F.G.S.,  in  an 
article  on  "  Wliittingham  Yale."  contributed  to  the  Alnwick 
Mercury  in  1862.     It  is  to  this  purport : — 

"  A  lord  of  Callaly,  in  the  days  of  yore,  commenced  erecting  a 
castle  on  the  hill  ;  his  lady  preferred  a  low,  sheltered  situation  in  the 
vale.  She  remonstrated  ;  but  her  lord  was  wilful,  and  the  building 
continued  to  progress.  What  she  could  not  obtain  by  persuasion  she 
sought  to  achieve  by  stratagem,  and  availed  herself  of  the  super- 
stitious opinions  and  feelings  of  the  age.  One  of  her  servants,  who 
was  devoted  to  her  interests,  entered  into  her  scheme  ;  he  was  dressed 
up  like  a  boar,  and  nightly  he  ascended  the  hill  and  pulled  down  all 
that  had  been  built  during  the  day.  It  was  soon  whispered  that  the 
spiritual  powers  were  opposed  to  the  erection  of  a  castle  on  the  hill  ; 
the  lord  himself  became  alarmed,  and  he  sent  some  of  his  retainers  to 
watch  the  building  during  the  night  and  discover  the  cause  of  the 
destruction.  Under  the  influence  of  the  superstitions  of  the  times 
those  retainers  magnified  appearances,  and  when  the  boar  issued  from 
the  wood  and  commenced  overthrowing  the  work  of  the  day,  they 
beheld  a  monstrous  animal  of  enormous  power.  Their  terror  was 
complete  when  the  boar,  standing  among  the  overturned  stones,  cried 
out  in  a  loud  voice — 

Callaly  Castle  built  on  the  height. 
Up  in  the  day  and  down  in  the  night ; 
Builded  down  in  the  Shepherd's  Shaw, 
It  shall  stand  for  aye  and  never  fa'. 

They  immediately  fled  and  informed  the  lord  of  the  supernatural 
visitation ;  and,  regarding  the  rhymes  as  an  expression  of  the  will  of 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.     325 

heaven,  he  abandoned  the  work,  and  in  accordance  with  the  wish  of 
his  lady  built  his  castle  low  down  in  the  vale,  where  the  modern 
mansion  now  stands." — J.  H.] 


The  Cheviots  for  muttons, 

And  Chillingham  for  beeves, 
Newcastle  for  its  whores, 

And  Kedesdale  for  thieves. 

The  first  trio  retain  their  ancient  celebrity  down  to  the 
present  moment;  but  the  profession  of  thieving  which  was 
innate  a  couple  of  centuries  ago,  or  even  less,  in  the  inhabitants 
of  Tindale  and  Redesdale  has  now  given  place  to  honesty ;  and 
the  difference  between  meum  and  tuwn  is  as  much  known  there 
as  in  any  other  district  of  England. 

In  A  Dialogue  hothe  pleasaunt  and  pietifidl,  by  William 
Bullein,  1564,  a  beggar  in  answer  to  the  question,  "  I  pray 
you  what  countrie  man  be  you?"  Answer,  "  Savying  your 
honour,  gud  maistresse,  I  was  borne  in  Redesdale  in  North- 
umberlande,  and  came  of  a  wight  ridyng  sirname  called  the 
Robsons.  gud  lionast  men  and  true,  savyng  a  little  shiftyng  for 
their  living.     God  and  our  leddie  help  them,  silie  pure  men." 

Grey,  Chorographia,  1649,  says^  "  There  is  many  every  year 
brought  in  of  them "  (the  thieves  of  Tindale  and  Redesdale) 
"  unto  the  gaole  of  Newcastle,  and  at  the  assizes  are  condemned 
and  hanged,  sometimes  twenty  or  thirty." 

A  worthy  Newcastle  merchant  once  informed  me  that  a 
tradition  had  been  handed  down  by  his  progenitors,  that  as 
many  as  twenty  of  their  kith  and  kin  and  all  bearing  the  same 
good  old  yeomanly  sirname  were  hung  at  Newcastle  in  one  day 
for  their  reiving  predilections. 

Camden  in  his  Britannia  has  a  passing  remark  on  the  men  of 
Redesdale. 


326  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

See  Stephen  Oliver,  the  younger's,  Rambles  in  Northumber- 
land, chap,  iv.,  130-140. 

Mitford  was  Mitford  when  Morpeth  was  nane, 

And  Mitford  shall  be  Mitford  when  Morpeth  is  gane. 

[Var  :  Mitford  was  Mitford  when  Morpeth  was  nyen, 

Mitford  will  be  Mitford,  when  Morpeth  is  gyen.j 

The  above  is  doubtless  a  very  ancient  Northumbrian  prophecy. 
The  village  of  Mitford  is  most  delightfully  situated  at  the  con- 
fluence of  the  rivers  Wansbeck  and  Font,  two  miles  west  of 
Morpeth.  There  is  a  similar  saying  on  Edinburgh  and 
Musselburgh. 

Morpeth  town  shall  come  to  nought, 

And  Prudhoe  Castle  fall. 
And  all  the  town  of  Monkchester 

Shall  be  without  a  wall, 

A  second  prophecy  anent  the  ''  awde  burrow  towne  o^ 
Morpeth ;  "  which  if  the  prophetic  rhymes  are  to  be  credited 
seems  destined  at  no  distant  period  to  "  come  to  nought."  In 
the  days  of  Leland  it  was  a  "  far  fayrer  towne  than  Alnwicke  ;  " 
but  now  how  altered  is  the  fact !  The  removal  of  the  assizes  was 
the  first  blow  in  late  years,  the  second,  the  burglary  committed 
by  its  rich  and  overgrown  neighbour  Newcastle,  when  it  not 
only  took  away  its  fairs,  but  its  markets ;  and  thirdly  the 
railway  was  destined  to  remove  the  last  traces  of  its  town -like 
appearance  by  doing  away  with  stage-coaches  and  post-horses. 
It  has  already  suffered  two  awful  conflagrations,  viz :  In  the 
thirteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries ;  and  if  the  third  should 
chance  to  visit  it  in  the  twenty-first  century,  so  far  from  rising 
again  like  a  phosnix  from  its  ashes  I  much  fear  that,  like  the  city 
of  Barnscar,  in  Cumberland^  it  will  fall  to  rise  no  more. 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.     327 

Prudhoe  Castle  was  tenanted  1557  ;  but  in  1596  was  reported 
as  old  and  ruinous.     It  is  now  a  mass  of  extensive  ruins. 

Even  so  late  as  in  the  '45,  the  walls  and  gates  of  Newcastle 
were  in  a  tolerable  state  of  repair;  and  on  account  of  the 
rebellion,  which  broke  out  at  the  latter  part  of  that  year,  they 
were  planted  with  two  hundred  pieces  of  cannon.  At  the  cor- 
responding period  in  the  next  century,  scarcely  one  stone  of 
either  wall  or  gate  remained  upon  another. 


Cold  Wydon  stands  on  a  hill, 
Hungry  Redpath  looks  at  it  still. 

Redpath  and  Wydon  are  two  villages  in  the  vale  of  Blen- 
kinsop,  near  Gilsland. 

Smoky  Shields. 

So  obvious  as  scarcely  to  require  an  explanatory  note.     See 
Dibdin^s  Northern  Tour. 


It  is  always  dry  land  over  to  Holy  Island  during  service  time  on  a 
Sunday. 

This  relic  has  been  handed  down  to  us  from  an  extremely 
early  period.  I  believe  that  it  is  alluded  to  by  Reginald,  one  of 
earliest  of  Lindisfarne's  historians.  There  is,  however,  no 
occasion  whatever  to  assign  the  ebb-tide  at  Holy  Island  to  the 
miraculous  interposition  of  Providence.  It  may  so  happen 
that  the  tide  does  so  ebb  naturally  at  the  time  in  question,  or,  as 
it  is  rather  a  peculiar  case,  may  not  the  hour  of  service  be 
altered  so  as  to  suit  the  tide  ?  This  island  is  twice  a  day 
separated  from  the  mainland  by  a  depth  of  five,  and  in  spring- 
tides of  seven  feet  of  water  and  twice  a  day  it  is  accessible  on 
dry  laud.     Its  greatest  distance  from  the  coast  scarcely  exceeds 


328  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

two  miles ;    but  the  pathway,  at  all  times  dangerous,  is  con- 
siderably lengthened  by  pools  and  quicksands. 

Dryshod,  o'er  sands,  twice  every  day, 
The  pilgrims  to  the  shrine  find  way  ; 
Twice  every  day  the  waves  efface, 
Of  staves  and  sandall'd  feet  the  trace. 

Mormion. 

When  ye  lang  for  a  mutton  bone 
Think  on  the  Wedderstone. 

The  Wedderstone  stands  in  a  field  near  the  village  of  Catton 
in  Allendale.  Tradition  states  that  many  years  ago  a  notorious 
sheep-stealer  infested  this  part  of  the  county,  who,  it  appears, 
was  the  terror  of  the  whole  of  the  neighbouring  farmers  ;  in  the 
first  place  because  he  appeared  to  be  a  good  judge  of  mutton, 
from  the  fact  of  his  generally  taking  the  choice  of  the  flock  ; 
and  in  the  second  place,  that,  although  he  paid  a  visit  to  every 
sheep-fold  for  several  miles  around,  and  to  many  where  a  strict 
watch  was  kept,  he  remained  unsuspected;  neither  was  there 
the  slightest  suspicion  as  to  who  the  thief  might  be.  At  length, 
however,  the  invisible  became  visible.  It  appeared  that  his 
method  of  carrying  off  his  booty  was  to  tie  the  four  legs  of  the 
animal  together,  and  then,  by  putting  his  head  through  the 
space  between  the  feet  and  body,  thus  carry  it  away  on  his 
shoulders.  On  his  last  visit  to  his  neighbour's  flock,  the  animal 
which  he  had  selected  for  his  week's  provision  beirig  heavy,  he 
stopped  to  rest  himself,  and  placed  his  burden  upon  the  top  of  a 
small  stone  column  (without  taking  it  off  his  shoulders),  when 
the  animal  became  suddenly  restive,  commenced  struggling, 
and  slipped  off  the  stone  on  the  opposite  side.  Its  weight  being 
thus  suddenly  drawn  round  his  neck,  the  poor  wretch  was 
unable  to  extricate  himself,  and  was  found  on  the  following 
morning  ^uite  dead, 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.     329 

A  similar  story  is  told  by  Fuller  of  the  Hanging  Stone  in 
Devonshire.  Worthies  of  England,  i.  273.  [The  Hanging 
Stone  on  Cheviot  has  a  similar  legend,  as  has  another  Hanging 
Rock  near  Gordon,  Berwickshire,  although  it  probably  obtained 
its  name  originally  from  its  suspended  attitude. — J.  H.] 

In  the  Castle  Bank  lies  a  bull's  hide  of  gold, 
But  there  it  shall  lie,  unseen — untold, 
Until  nine  sons  and  their  widowed  mother, 
The  charm  shall  break  and  the  gold  discover. 

The  above  is  traditionally  said  to  be  one  of  the  many  pro- 
phecies attributed  to  old  Mother  Shipton,  and  applies  to  Castle 
Banks,  near  Haltwhistle.  On  the  south  side  of  this  eminence, 
and  near  its  summit,  is  a  spring  in  a  hollow,  which  converts 
about  twenty  feet  in  diameter  into  a  bog  or  morass ;  here, 
according  to  tradition,  a  bull's  hide  filled  with  gold  lies  buried, 
which  can  only  be  raised  by  a  widow  with  nine  sons. 

There  will  be  three  great  battles. 
One  at  Northumberland  Bridge, 
One  at  Cumberland  Bridge, 
And  the  other  the  south  side  of  Trent. 

An  old  prophecy  attributed  to  Nixon,  the  Cheshire  prophet. 

The  lang  gaunts  o'  Elishaw 
Were  heard  in't  loans  o'  Blakelaw. 

Gaunts — sighs,  yawns. 

Loans. — The  places  where  cows  are  milked  in  a  common 
pasture  are  so  called  in  the  North  of  England  and  the  South  of 
Scotland. 

The  saying  though  now  applied  to  the  sighings  of  lovers  in 
general  is  often  heard  as  "  the  lang  gaunts  o'  Elishaw,"  and  is 


330  THE  DENHA.M  TRACTS. 

supposed  by  a  Redesdale  correspondent  of  the  writer  to  refer 
'^  to  some  feud  in  which  the  people  of  Elishaw  took  terrible 
vengeance  on  the  folks  o'  Blakelaw."  Blakeman's  Law,  as  its 
name  implies,  is  a  hill  near  Elishaw  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
Durtree  burn.  There  is  also  a  Blakelaw,  two  and  a  half  miles 
from  Newcastle,  and  another  near  Bellingham. —  [Thomas 
Arkle.  Mr.  Arkle  noted  that  this  saying  is  also  spoken  of 
in  regard  to  two  places  near  the  Tweed,  but  he  could  not  find 
his  reference.] 

In  the  History  of  the  Benvickshire  Naturalists'*  Club,  viii.  pp. 
129-130,  note,  Mr.  Thomas  Craig  gives  a  Roxburghshire  varia- 
tion, which  concerns  Elliesheugh  on  the  Beaumont  in  the  parish 
of  Hownam.  "  A  local  saying  was  at  one  time  very  popular, 
that, 

The  lang  Gaunts  of  EUisheugh, 
Were  heard  at  Blackden  lane. 

Oral  tradition  affirms  that  the  saying  originated  in  the  cir- 
cumstance of  a  noisy  family  of  the  name  of  Gaunt  having  at  one 
time  lived  at  Elliesheugh  ;  though  in  lapse  of  time  many 
supposed  it  to  mean  the  '  lang  gaunts '  (yawns)  of  an  unusually 
sleepy  hamlet  population." — J.  H.j 

Rothbury  for  goats'  milk, 
And  the  Cheviots  for  mutton, 
Cheswick  for  its  cheese  and  bread, 
And  Tynemouth  for  a  glutton. 

Rothbury  is  bounded  on  the  east  by  a  lofty  ridge  of  steep  and 
rugged  rocks,  which  extends  a  distance  of  four  miles.  Among 
these  craggy  cliffs  a  number  of  goats  were  once  grazed  to  supply 
the  valetudinarians  who  resorted  thereto  during  the  summer 
season  with  goats-milk  and  whey,  which  delicacies,  in  conjunc- 


i 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.     331 

tion  with  the  sakibrious  air  of  the  place,  often  produced  wonder- 
ful effects,  in  bracing  the  relaxed  tone  of  the  nervous  system. 

The  Cheviot  Hills  occupy  an  area  of  nearly  95,000  acres.  On 
the  Cheviot,  from  which  all  the  others  in  that  extensive  range 
take  their  name,  is  a  large  loch  which  is  often  frozen  at  Mid- 
summer. [This  loch,  which  figures  in  several  of  the  local 
histories,  is  merely  a  few  "  moss-holes,"  of  which  one  or  two  of 
no  great  extent  do  not  dry  up  in  summer.  They  are  the  sources 
of  the  Coldgate  and  College  burns.]  In  Kidland  lordship  the 
sheep  of  the  Cheviot  breed  are  found  in  the  greatest  perfection, 
the  sweet  herbage  on  which  they  depasture  being  peculiarly 
favourable  for  feeding  and  breeding  these  useful  animals.  Here 
they  are  never  visited  with  the  rot,  or  subjected  to  any  other 
disease  except  what  is  termed  pineing  ;  and  of  this  they  can 
easily  be  cured  by  removing  for  a  few  weeks  those  which  are 
affected  to  a  soil  incumbent  on  freestone. 

The  ancient  celebrity  of  Cheswick  for  its  cheese  is  already 
sung.     See  note  to  sayings  on  Rimside  Moor,  p.  321. 

Take  him,  Satax  !  take  him  ! 

In  the  year  1195  William  Pigun,  who  wore  the  habit,  but 
was  not  a  monk,  was  a  most  wicked  hypocrite  among  reli- 
gious men.  This  villain,  observing  that  the  seal  of  his  monastery 
of  St.  Albans  was  not  watched  as  it  might  have  been,  found  an 
opportmiity  to  steal  it,  and  committing  a  forgery  with  it,  was 
banished  from  that  house  to  the  cell  of  Thinemue,  there  to  do 
perpetual  penance  for  his  crime.  Being  implacable,  he  often 
bitterly  cursed  the  abbot  who  sent  him  to  Tynemouth,  but  all 
his  curses  fell  upon  his  own  head ;  for  falling  asleep  in  the 
priory,  after  eating  and  drinking  to  excess,  he  never  waked 
again  ;  and  the  monks  who  were  in  the  cloister  and  dorture, 
distinctly  heard  a  voice  crying  in  a  most  vehement  manner, 
Take  him,  Satan  !  take  him  Satan !   {Brand). 


332  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 


The  Wind's  in  Howick  Hole. 


[In  Northumberland,  storms  from  the  south-east  are  so  said 
to  come,  and  are  anything  but  appreciated  . — J.  H.] 

In  the  olden  time,  when  round  hearths  were  used,  there  rose 
a  sort  of  unmannerly  proverb,  "  Neighbour,  is  the  wind  in 
your  hole  this  morning  ? "  among  the  country  people,  the 
meaning  of  which  is,  ^'  Have  you  the  conveniency  of  keeping 
in  your  fire  to-day  ?  Wind-hearths  had  holes  under  them 
which  were  pierced  straight  through  the  foundation  of  the  house. 
Hearths  of  similar  construction  are  still  used  in  the  peat  and 
turf  burning  districts  of  the  North  of  England.  [Var.  : 
"  There's  never  any  good  comes  out  o'  Howick  Hole,"  or  "  It's 
gaun  to  be  bad  weather,  the  wind's  out  o'  Howick  Hole."  In 
Berwickshire  we  substitute  ''  Lamsdean  Hole." — J.  H.] 

Hearts  is  Trumps  at  Eshott  Hall. 

The  gentleman  who  kindly  communicated  the  above,  and 
many  other  popular  rhymes  and  proverbs,  which  greatly  en- 
hance the  value  of  the  present  collection  favoured  me  with  the 
following  remarks : — ''  I  have  often  heard  this  at  Newcastle 
when  a  boy.  It  seems  to  have  referred  to  the  golden  age  of 
squirealty,  when  })laying  at  cards  was  nearly  their  only  employ- 
ment, and  the  occurrence  of  a  certain  kind  of  trump  an  accident 
of  sufficient  importance  to  be  thrown  into  a  proverb ;  but  at 
what  period  the  remarkable  fact  was  at  first  established  will 
perhaps  always  remain  in  obscurity.  It  can  scarcely  be  placed 
earlier  than  Queen  Anne,  certainly  not  later  than  the  American 
war." 

Eshott  Hall  is  within  a  short  distance  of  Felton.  The  pro- 
perty at  different  ages  has  been  in  possession  of  the  De  Eshott, 
Bertram,  Heron,  and  CaiT  families,  but  has  long  since  passed 


I 


POPULAR  RHYMES^  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.       333 

from  the  good  old  Northumbrian  race  of  Carrs.  The  Carrs  of 
Eshott  were  in  good  esteem  in  tlie  nortli,  and  were  referred 
to  and  considered  what  may  be  called  the  principal  house  of  the 
name  in  the  "  north  countree." 


It's  no'  a  Byword,  like  Hebbron  Kirk. 

Hebburn  (properly  so  spelt)  church  was  rebuilt  in  1793. 
In  1674,  Dr.  Basire,  at  his  visitation,  found  the  chapel  "  most 
scandalously  and  dangerously  ruinous ;  roof  divided,  under- 
propt  within  with  eight  crutches,  without  with  three  ;  the  seats 
all  upturned  and  broken."  [Is  this  a  genuine  saying  ?  The 
village  referred  to  is  Hebburn  in  Bothal  parish,  Morpeth  ward. 
—J.  H.] 

It's  Wednesday  at  Morpeth,  Thursday  at  Longtowii,  and  Friday  at 
Allendale  Town. 

A  Northumbrian  answer  when  one  person  enqm'res  of  another 
what  day<  of  the  week  it  is.  The  days  given  in  the  text  are 
those  in  which  the  respective  towns  hold  their  markets. —  [J.  H  ] 

Hartley  and  Hallowell,  a'  ya'  bonnie  lassie, 
Fair  Seatoii  Delaval,  a'  ya', 
Earsdon  stands  on  a  liill,  a'  ya', 
Near  to  Billy  Mill,  a'  ya'. 

Hartley,  a  township  and  considerable  village,  is  situated  near 
the  sea,  five  and  a  half  miles  north  of  North  Shields. 

Hallowell,  or  Holywell,  a  township  and  a  small  village  five 
and  a  half  miles  north-west  by  west  of  North  Shields.  It 
derives  its  name  from  Saint  Mary's  Well,  the  waters  of  which 
are  medicinal  and  become  of  a  puce  colour  with  an  infusion  of 
nut-galls. 


334  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

Seaton  Delaval,  a  township  six  and  a  half  miles  north-west  of 
North  Shields,  near  to  which  are  the  ruins  of  Seaton  Delaval 
Hall,  which,  previous  to  its  destruction  by  fire,  3rd  Jan.,  1822,. 
was  one  of  the  most  noble  mansions  in  the  north.     This  ruined 
and  deserted  seat  is  the  property  of  Lord  Hastings. 

Earsdon,  a  pleasant  and  well-built  village,  is  seated  on  a 
rocky  eminence,  two  and  a  half  miles  west  of  the  sea,  three  and 
a  half  from  North  Shields,  and  eight  miles  from  Newcastle. 

Billy  Mill  is  in  the  parish  of  Tynemouth. 

"  A'  ya'  bonnie  lassie."  Brockett,  in  his  Glossary  of  North 
Country  Words,  under  "  A  you  a  hinny,"  says  the  expression 
is  used  by  northern  nurses  as  a  lullabee.  Vide  Brand's  Pop. 
Ant.,  8vo  and  4to,  1810  ;  Bell's  Northern  Rhymes,  296  : 

There's  Sandgate  for  old  rags, 
A  you,  hinny  Burd, 
And  Gallowgate  for  trolly  bags, 
A  you  a. 

Newcastle  Song. 


The  Meadow  Bank  grows  clover  rank, 
And  Cheeseburn  Grange  grows  tansy ; 
But  go  I  will,  to  the  8tob  Hill, 
And  court  my  bonny  Nancy. 

Cheeseburn  Grange  is  in  the  parish  of  Stamfordham.  Stob- 
Hill  is  the  name  of  a  farmstead  in  the  same  parish.  Of  Meadow 
Bank  I  can  gather  nothing  from  the  authorities  before  me. 


Alnwick. 
Alnwick  famed  for  bloody  battles  and  bogs. 

[For  its  battles  and  sieges,  see  the  County  Histories.] 


POPULAR  EHTMESj  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.      335 
2.  Canny  Annick  and  its  ten  miles  round. 

"  I  would  venture  to  hope  that  the  revolutionary  waves  which 
are  sweeping  away  the  customs  of  the  olden  times  may  still 
spare  to  canny  Annick  and  its  ten  miles  round  the  picturesque 
and  joyous  spectacle  of  going  through  the  well." — Mr.  George 
Tate,  Provincial  Souvenir  and  Eastern  Border  Annual,  1846. — 
[J.  H.] 

Go  TO  Heckley  Fexce. 

Equivalent  to  the  exclamation  used  by  a  poor  fellow  when  he 
is  harassed  by  some  testy  disputants  of  "  Go  to  the  devil ! " 
Heckley  fence  is  a  farm  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Alnwick. 

Its  like  the  Butter  o'  Halterburn. 

That  is,  "  it  would  neither  rug  nor  rive,  nor  cut  wi'  knife — 
it  was  confounded."  From  the  latter  part  at  least  of  this  doubt- 
less befitting  description,  it  is  most  evident  that  the  butter  was 
bewitched.  [Sent  by  J.  H. — A  Roxburgh,  &c.,  saying.  Be- 
witching had  nothing  to  do  with  it.  The  milk  had  not  been 
properly  syled,  and  the  kirn  had  not  been  clean,  and  the  conse- 
quence would  be  a  compound  of  butter,  hair,  and  dish-clout. 
Halterburn  is  on  the  Borders,  near  Yetholm.] 

Question.  "Where  have  ye  been  to-day  ? 
Answer.     Where  the  devil  hanged  his  grannie. 

[The  devil  hanged  his  grannie  on  "  the  bowed  rock  on  tho 
brae,"  a  hanging  crag,  on  the  slope  of  Doddington  Hill,  that 
faces  Wooler.  It  is  a  cavernous  rock — one  of  Cuddy's  or  St. 
Cuthbert's  coves — and  has  cut  on  its  sides  a  few  Runic  cha- 
racters, and  on  its  top  some  of  those  mysterious  cup-markings 


336  The  denham  teacts. 

and  circles,  ascribed  to  the  ancient  Britons,  which  are  so  frequent 
on  this  hill.  On  the  summit  of  the  rock,  which  is  of  sandstone, 
the  rain  gathers  into  little  circular  pools,  which,  being  whirled 
about  by  the  wind  and  partly  filled  with  sand,  are  becoming 
deeper  and  deeper.  These  empty  themselves  when  full  along 
many  deep  gutters,  round  the  brow  of  the  rock,  that  resemble 
hollows  made  by  ropes  fraying  the  softer  parts  of  the  stone. 
The  "  devil's  grand-dame  "  and  "dam"  are  mentioned  in  ^wdi- 
hras.  Elsewhere  on  the  Borders  we  find  the  devil  dissatisfied 
with  his  "fore-elders."  In  Roxburghshire,  according  to  Dr. 
Brydone  of  Hawick,  the  devil  dwelt  in  a  cave  in  that  wild 
moorland  now  occupied  by  Hellmuir  Loch,  and  his  mother  was 
his  housekeeper.  One  morning  he  awoke  early,  as  he  had  a 
busy  day  before  him,  having  to  brand  and  dispose  of  a  large 
number  of  apostates,  whom  he  had  caught  the  day  before. 
Finding  his  porritch  not  ready,  and  his  mother  still  sleeping,  he 
flew  into  a  passion,  seized  a  huge  stone  and  dashed  her  brains 
out,  and  in  the  ecstacy  of  his  frenzy  dragged  her  body  across 
the  country  till,  becoming  tired,  he  threw  her  into  a  deep  pool 
in  a  burn  on  the  farm  of  Stonedge,  which  pool  is  called  the 
DeviPs  Cauldron  till  this  day.  She  was  heavy,  and  her  body 
ploughed  up  the  land  and  made  the  Catrail. — History  of  Ber- 
icickshire  Naturalists'  Club,  vii.,  p.  75. — J.  H.] 

RUNCHES  AND  WiLD  OaTS  ARE  THE  BaDGE  OF  BaMBOROUGHSHIRE. 

The  tillage  lands  in  that  district  are  grievously  overrun  with 
these  weeds.  When  the  "  Bunch"  is  in  bloom  the  appearance 
is  called  "  the  Yellow  Fever."— [J.  H.] 

There's  walth  o'  kye  i'  bonny  Braidlees  ; 
There's  walth  o'  yowes  i'  Tyne  ; 
There's  walth  o'  gear  i'  Gowanburn  ; 
And  they  shall  all  be  thine. 

A   quatrain   quoted    by   the    Ettrick    Shepherd,    Tales    and 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.       337 

Sketches,  vol.  ii.,  p.  126.  It  is  evidently  a  relic  of  a  Scots 
nursery  freebooting  song,  singularly  illustrative'  of  the  happy 
manner  in  which  the  nurses  and  grandames  of  the  good  old 
Border  times  fulfilled  the  delightful  task  of  teaching  "the 
young  idea  how  to  shoot,"  pouring  "  the  fresh  instructions  o'er 
the  mind,"  breathing  the  "  enlivening  spirit,"  and  fi.xing  "  the 
hostile  purpose  in  the  glowing  breast." 

[I  sent  this  to  Mr.  Denham,  but  I  doubt  if  it  is  a  veritable 
rhyme. — J.  H.]' 

Twice  burned. 
Twice  robbed, 
And  once  sunk, 
And  then  farewell  to  Hesleyside. 

Tliere  are  no  particular  traditions  of  the  ancient  family  of 
Charlton  of  Hesleyside.    This  Border  sept  held  that  estate  in  the 

reign  of   Edward  I Sir   Edward  Charlton 

was  out  with  Charles  I.,  and  raised  a  troop  of  horse  for  that 
luckless  monarch.     The  spur  of  the  Charlton  is  at  Hesleyside. 

The  mansion  of  Hesleyside  was  twice  burned  and  twice 
robbed  during  the  last  century,  but  as  yet  it  shows  no  outward 
or  visible  sign  of  sinking,  either  in  a  figurative  or  actual 
sense. 

Waterless  Walwick  stands  on  the  hill  ; 

Hungry  Humshaugh  looks  at  it  still  : 

Cockelaw  and  Keepick  stand  in  a  raw, 

There's  mawks  in  the  kirn  at  Easington  Ha'.-  [J.H.] 

Walwick,  in  the  parish  of  Warden,  a  district  rich  in  historical 
and  legendary  reminiscences. 

Humshaugh  is  in  the  parish  of  Simonburn. 

Cocklaw  is  in  the  parish  of  St.  John  Lee. 

Keepick  or  Keepwick  is  in  the  townshij)  of  Cocklaw. 


338  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

[Easington  Ha'  is  probably  a  farm  near  tlic  otlier  places. 
Mawks  are  maggots.  I  obtained  this  rhyme  from  a  native  of 
Tyneside. — J.  H.] 

Rattenuaw  Burn  will  not  make  a  Crowdy  aftkr  May  Day. 

Rattenraw  stands  on  the  south  side  of  the  Reed,  about  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  from  Elisliaw,  another  village  of  gipsy 
notoriety.  The  land  which  now  forms  part  of  a  farm  consti- 
tuted, some  thirty  years  ago,  five  occupations,  and  probably  at 
a  remote  period  there  may  have  been  double  that  number.  The 
tenants,  however,  of  such  primitive  holdings  were  necessarily 
poor,  each  raising  a  quantity  of  corn  which  the  greatest  economy 
could  scarcely  make  sufficient  to  re-sow  the  ground  and  support 
the  family  till  the  succeeding  harvest.  The  result  was  that  very 
little  of  any  sort  of  grain  remained  on  hand  after  seed  time. 
Hence  arose  the  saying  as  a  satire  on  the  poverty  of  the 
inhabitants. 

When  the  corn  made  an  approach  to  ripeness,  small  patches 
of  the  most  forward  might  have  been  observed  cut  for  the  pur- 
pose of  being  hurried  to  the  mill  to  make  food  for  the  expectant 
household.  Rattenraw  was  no  exception  in  this  respect ;  yet 
the  state  of  society  was  there  more  strongly  marked.  There, 
too,  the  Hungry  Hook  was  last  seen  "flying"  before  it  bade  a 
final  farewell  to  the  Yale  of  the  Reed.  When  portions  of  grain 
were  cut  in  a  partially  green  state,  the  neighbours  were  wont  to 
observe,  "  The  Hungry  Hook  is  flying,"  and  when  any  one 
inquired  the  cause  of  the  premature  cutting,  the  invariable  reply 
was,  "  We  want  fog  for  the  cow,"  thus  endeavouring  to  draw  a 
veil  over  a  condition  which  mankind  in  general  are  fain  to 
conceal. —  [Thomas  Arkle.] 

[The  Cuckoo  will  not  appear  as  long  as  the  Flail  is  heard 

AT    PaUPERHAUGH. 

The  farm  of  Pauperhaugh  is  situated  on  the  north  bank  of  the 


POPULAR  RHYMES^  ETC.,  RELATINa  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.       3.39 

Coquet,  Jibout  three  miles  below  Rothbuiy.  At  the  time  when 
this  reproachful  taunt  had  its  origin,  the  land  there  was  doubt- 
less divided,  like  that  at  Rattenraw  just  mentioned,  into  very 
small  holdings,  the  tenants  of  which  were  poor,  and  this  cir- 
cumstance may,  perhaps,  account  for  the  unenviable  designation 
which  yet  attaches  to  the  place.  In  those  days  little  of  the  grain 
remained  unthrashed  after  seed  time,  and  the  welcome  spring 
visitant  on  her  first  approach  would  generally  witness  empty 
'  stackyards. 

The  state  of  society  in  the  upland  vales  of  Northumberland, 
which  elicited  from  the  officers  of  Elizabeth's  government  such 
complaints  of  the  country  being  overburthened  with  people, 
gradually  disappeared,  but  this  saying  affords  evidence  that  it 
lingered  at  Pauperhaugh  after  a  new  order  of  things  had  been 
established  at  most  of  the  adjoining  hamlets. — Thomas  Arkle.] 

Hunterley  Dunterley  stands  on  yon  hill, 

Hungry  Hesleyside  looks  at  it  still, 

The  Reins  and  the  Riding,  Longhaugh,  and  the  Shaw, 

Bellingliam,  Bogglehole,  and  the  Iver  Ha' 

The  little  man  o'  the  moulting  striddles  o'er  them  a'. 

"  [Nearly  all  these  places  are  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Hesley- 
side. The  "  little  man  of  the  moulting,"  or  malt-kiln,  was  one 
Archibald  Reed,  who  held  a  mortgage  over  the  property,  from 
which  the  owners  at  last  extricated  themselves.  See  at  greater 
length  in  Mr.  Denham's  original  work,  pp.  119-121.] 

The  Hobthrush  of  Elsdon  Moat. 

In  the  district  of  Elsdon  the  Hobthrush  goblin  is  locally 
known  by  the  name  of  Hobthrush.  One  of  these  beings  of  the 
imagination  was  wont  to  visit  Elsdon  Moat  in  days  of  old,  and 
as  became   him,  brownie-like,  performed    a   great  amount   of 

z2 


310  THE  DEKHAM  TKACTP. 

liousehold  and  other  labour.  He  wore  a  shocking  bad  hat,  as 
the  story  goes,  and  out  of  commiseration,  for  far,  very  far 
from  it  was  the  purpose  of  banishment  intended,  the  inmates 
placed  a  new  one  in  his  accustomed  haunt,  when  like  the  Cauld 
liad  o'  Hylton  and  the  Brownie  o'Bodsbeck,  he  disappeared 
uttering  a  shorter  though  somewhat  similar  wailing  cry — 

New  hat,  new  hootl, 
Hobthrush  'ill  do  no  more  good. 

The  lively  imagination  of  our  ancestors  seems  by  joining  a 
portion  of  the  attributes  of  the  different  genii  to  have  created  a 
third,  and  this  process  being  continuously  repeated,  the  result 
was,  that  there  was  scarcely  a  spot  of  earth  on  the  habitable 
globe  which  had  not  its  own  particular  sprite.  [Thomas 
Arkle.] 


ADDENDA. 

Remnants  of  things  that  are  passing  away. 
Siu  John  Fenwick,  the  flower  amang  them. 

I  recollect  an  old  woman  of  Wallington  used  to  repeat  the 
following  fragment : — 

Sir  John  Feenwick's  a  flower  amang  them, 
He  looked  over  his  left  shoulder,  and  bid  the 
Hexham  lads  gang  hang  them. 

But  why  he  looked  over  his  left  shoulder  rather  than  his  right, 
and  why  he  should  bid  the  Hexham  lads  gang  hang  them  ;  and 
whether  the  "  them  "  was  the  lads  themselves,  I  never  could 
make  out.     Private  Correspondence,  June,  1852. 

Had  we  the  good  hap  to  have  this  once  popular  song  before 
us,  I  guess  we  should  find  that  the  command  given  by  the  fierce 


POPULAR  EHYMESj  ETC.,  EELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.       341 

kiiyght  of  old  was  to  be  executed  on  some  reiving  rogues  of 
liedesdale,  or  canny  Scots  freebooters.     [Very  unlikely]. 

The  fact  of  Sir  John  being  represented  as  looking  over  his 
left  shoulder  will  be  found  to  prevail  pretty  generally  in  ballad 
lore. 

Old  Sea  Gull. 

The  familiar  appellation  bestowed  upon  Lord  Collingwood  by 
north  country  seamen. 

Canny  Laug  Benton, 
Bonny  Seaton  Delaval. 

Characteristics  met  with  in  local  song. 

The  Spittal  wives  are  no'  very  nice,"" 

They  bake  their  bread  wi'  bugs  and  lice  ; 

And  after  that  they  skin  the  cat, 

And  put  it  into  then-  kail-pot 

Tliat  makes  then-  broo'  baith  thick  and  fat. 

It  stands  recorded  on  the  page  of  history  that,  once  upon  a 
time,  Spittal  (near  Berwick-upon-Tweed)  was  the  common 
rendezvous  of  smugglers  and  vagabonds;  bat  happily  they  are 
all  driven  from  their  coverts,  and  the  inhabitants  may  now, 
with  certain  exceptions  here  and  there,  be  esteemed  as  both 
honest  and  industrious.  They  are,  however,  pretty  generally 
looked  upon  by  their  more  cleanly  industrious  neighbours  as 
somewhat  mucky  withal  in  their  culinary  operations. 

The  Gowks  o'  Davy  Shields. 
[Second  Notice.] 

Davy  Shield,  or  Davoy  Shield,  is  the  vale  traversed  by  the 
Otter,  which  falls  into  the  Reed  at  Otterburn.  It  consists  at 
this  time  of  four  farm  houses,  a  shooting  box,  and  a  cottage, 


342  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

yet,  like  other  pastoral  districts,  bears  unmistakeable  marks  of 
depopulation.  Whether  the  dwellers  here  were  formerly  gowks 
above  all  the  men  who  dwell  in  Redesdale,  it  is  now,  perhaps, 
impossible  to  ascertain,  but  it  is  certain  that^  even  in  the  remote 
locality  of  Davey  Shield,  intercourse  with  the  world,  like  the 
action  of  attrition  on  pebbles,  has  smoothed  the  asperities,  rounded 
the  salient  points,  and  made  the  people  approach  to  the  common 
standard. —  [Thomas  Arkle.] 

We'll    Make't  out  amang  us,  as  the  Folks  o'   Lislebuisn    did 
THE  Lord's  Prayer. 

This  is  said  when  there  are  several  persons  in  company,  and 
each  is  constrained  to  furnish  some  reminiscence  of  an  event 
nearly  forgotten. 

If  there  is  any  truth  in  this  saying,  "  the  folks  o'  Lisleburn  " 
had  not  been  so  surcharged  with  acumen  as  the  characteristic 
given  on  a  former  page  (see  Clegs  o'  Lisleburn)  would  seom  to 
imply,  unless  it  is  admitted  that  the  children  of  that  part  of  the 
world  are  wiser  in  their  generation,  etc. —  [Thomas  Arkle.] 

Tatty  Town  Folks. 

That  is,  the  inhabitants  of  the  village  of  Thropton,  near 
Rothbury.  It  is  said  that  this  was  the  first  place  at  which 
potatoes  were  grown  in  this  part  of  the  country;  and  the 
saying  which  is  now  used  as  a  term  of  reproach  is  probably  the 
only  piece  of  surviving  history  which  commemorates  the  circum- 
stance.—  [Thomas  Arkle.] 

There  was  never  four  saved  at  Three  Card  but  at  the 
Grasslees. 

Here  in  the  olden  time  a  party  of  four  was  playing  at  this 
game  (Loo),  when  the  house  tumbling  down  they  saved,  not 
their  stakes,  but  their  lives. 


POPULAR  EHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATIKG  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.      343 

I  may  liere  mention  a  curious  custom  wliieli  prevailed  some 
eighty  years  ago,  in  one  or  more  of  the  dales  in  this  county. 
When  playing  at  whist,  if  one  of  the  party  got  the  odd  trick, 
their  opponents  having  had  the  four  honours,  a  circumstance 
which  sometimes  happens,  the  former  party  rose  up  and  chalked  or 
scratched  a  cuddy's  head  upon  the  wall.  A  very  old  man,  now 
dead,  used  frequently  to  relate  that  he  had  seen  this  done  in  his 
boyish  days,  and  on  one  side,  on  the  underside  of  the  boards, 
the  house  beino:  what  in  those  districts  is  termed  lofted.  This 
occurred  at  Paunch  ford,  and  visiting  the  place  some  fifty  years 
afterwards,  he  found  the  representation  still  perfect. 

Grasslees  and  Pauuchford  are,  or  rather  were,  two  farm 
places  in  the  township  of  Woodside,  and  parish  of  Elsdon. — 
[Thomas  Arkle.] 

The  Couts  o'  Cartington. 

Cartington  is  a  place  rather  famed  in  history,  and  notice  of 
it  may  be  seen  in  the  pages  of  any  local  historian.  The  saying 
took  its  rise  from  a  family  of  rash,  rough,  headstrong  individuals 
residing  there  in  days  of  old. 

Auld  Wark  upon  the  Tweed, 
Has  been  many  a  man's  dead. 

[For  an  account  of  Wark,  see  the  County  Histories,  and  a 
paper  in  the  Border  Magazine,  by  the  Rev.  Peter  Mearns,  to 
which  there  are  additions  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Hawick 
Arcliceological  Society  J] 

Newcastle. 

1 .  Canny  Newcastle  thou  shines  as  thou  stands, 

Tlic  more  I  look  at  thee,  the  more  my  heart  warms. 

The  above  words  seem  to  come  from  the  heai't  of  a  genuine 


344  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

Newcastle  man,  or  untravelled  northern.  Whether  they  form 
a  perfect  ejaculation,  or  are  part  of  a  poem,  I  am  at  a  loss  to 
say.     I  suspect  the  latter. 

2.  Portus,  castrmn,  carbo,  salmo,  salina,  molaris, 

Murus,  pons,  tcmplum,  schola,  sunt  novi  gloria  castri. 

See  ante,  p.  307.  The  above  is  the  reading  as  given  by 
Grey  in  his  C/iorographia,  and  yet  neither  of  them  can  boast  of 
true  metrical  quantities. 

Hexham  Nicknames. 

The  subject  thougli  trivial  is  curious,  and  perhaps  not 
altogether  to  be  condemned. 

It  was  usual  in  ancient  times  with  the  greatest  families,  and 
is  by  all  genealogists  allowed  to  be  a  mighty. evidence  of  dignity, 
to  use  certain  nicknames,  which  the  French  call  ''  sobriquets." 
History  of  the  House  of  Yvery. 

An  esteemed  correspondent,  a  native  of  Hexham,  writes  me, 
"  I  think  that  by-names  abound  more  in  Hexham  than  in  many 
places,  many  of  us  have  our  sobriquet.  No  class  is  exempt. 
Excuse  me  sending  more  than  a  selection  of  what  I  could  easily 
collect,  and  accept  as  my  excuse  that  I  ought  to  bo  better 
employed  than  making  up  matters  tending  to  bring  into  coji- 
tempt  my  townsfolks,  and  perhaps  my  kinsmen." 

So,  also,  another  friend  and  correspondent  (likewise  a  native) 
says :  ''  Hexham  used  to  be  an  odd  kind  of  place.  I  don^t 
know  what  it  is  now,  but  everybody  used  to  have  a  nickname, 
and  some  of  them  were  very  strange,  take  the  following  as  a 
sample  : — [Note  that  both  lists  are  blended.] 

Kick  o'  the  guts.  Brandy  Billy. 

Wry-neck.  Hob  o'  the  loanin. 

Lord  Lickpenny.  .John  o'  the  loanin, 


POPULAR  RHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.      345 

Moses.  Jemmy  lang  Hannah. 

Pistol-foot.  Aaron. 

Shiney-boots.  Jamaica  Tommy. 

Jamaica  John.  Gentleman  John. 

Gold-foot.  Weather-neck. 

Jinny  the  Drummer.  Lang  Ends. 

Mall  the  Priest.  Mary  o'  the  Kiln. 

Bubbly  Jock.  Jack  the  Dilly-driver. 

Clocky  Bell.  Me-an'-my-Father. 


A  Busy  Gap  Rogue. 

Tlie  offence  of  calling  a  fellow  freeman  "  by  this  name  '^  was 
sufficiently  serious  to  attract  the  attention  of  a  guild,  a  case  of 
this  kind  being  in  the  books  of  the  Bakers'  and  Brewers'  Com- 
pany of  Xewcnstle  on-Tyne,  1645. — The  Roman  Wall,  Rev. 
J.  C.  Bruce,  LL.D.,  2nd  ed.  4to,  p.  176. 

Camden  mentions — "  Busy  Gap,  noted  for  robberies,  where 
we  heard  there  were  forts,  but  durst  not  go  and  view  them,  for 
fear  of  the  mosstroopers. "  Busy  Gap  is  an  ancient  breach  in 
the  "  Roman  or  Picts  Wall,"  at  no  great  distance  from  the 
station  Procolitia,  now  Carrawbrough. 

To  Drink  like  a  Sleuth-hound. 
A  Border  expression.     Sleuth-hound,  i.e.,  the  blood-hound. 

Poor  Jack  and  Tom. 

The  following   auld   antique  Border  ditty,  which  was  taken 
down  from  the  lips  of  a  "  Crowder  and  ballad  singer  "  in  1847 
contains  nothing  remarkable,   either  as  regards  plot  or  poetic 
merit,  yet  as  a  traditional  Border  ballad,  apparelled  in  the  dust 


346  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

and  cobwebs  of  tlie  oldon  time,  I  consider  it  well  deserving,   not 
only  of  notice  but  of  preservation  ;  — 

I'm  a  north  countryman,  in  Redesdale  born, 
Where  our  land  lies  lea,  and  grows  ne  corn; 
And  such  twa  lads  to  my  house  never  com, 
As  them  twa  lads  called  Jack  and  Tom. 

Now,  Jack  and  Tom,  they're  going  to  the  sea, 

I  wish  them  both  in  good  companie  ! 

They're  going  to  seek  their  fortune  ayont  the  wide  sea, 

Far,  far  away,  from  their  own  countrie. 

They  mounted  their  horses,  and  rode  over  the  moor, 
Till  they  came  to  a  house,  when  tliey  rapped  at  the  door, 

And  out  came  Jockey,  the  hostler  man.* 
"  D'ye  brew  ony  ale  ?     D'ye  brew  ony  beer  ? 
Or  have  ye  ony  lodgings  for  strangers  here  ?  " 

*'  Ne,  we  brew  ne  ale,  nor  we  sell  ne  beer. 

Nor  have  we  lodgings  for  strangers  here !  " 

So  he  bolted  the  door,  aad  bade  them  begone, 

For  there  was  na  lodgings  there  for  poor  Jack  and  Tom. 

They  mounted  their  horses,  and  rode  over  the  plain  ; 
Dark  was  the  night,  and  down  fell  the  rain  ; 
Till  a  twinkling  star  they  happened  to  spy, 
And  a  castle  and  a  house  they  were  close  by. 

They  rode  up  to  the  house,  and  they  rapped  at  the  door, 

And  out  came  Jockey  the  hosteler  ; 

''  D'ye  brew  ony  ale  ?     D'ye  sell  ony  beer  ? 

Or  have  ye  ony  lodgings  for  strangers  here  ?  " 

*  It  must  not  be  inferred  from  this  that  the  little  way-side 
hostelries  kept  "  hostlers,"  a»!cording  to  the  present  acceptation  of 
the  word.  The  primeval  moaning  was,  "  hostman  "  or  "  innkeeper." 
Again,  the  students  in  some  of  the  colleges  at  Cambridge  were  for- 
merly so  termed. 


I 


POPULAR  EHYMES,  ETC.j  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.       347 

"  Yes,  we  have  brewed  ale  tliis  fifty  laiig  year, 
And  we  have  got  lodgings  for  strangers  here." 
So  the  roast  to  the  fire,  and  the  pot  hung  on, 
'Twas  all  to  accommodate  poor  Jack  and  Tom. 

When  supper  was  over,  and  all  was  sided  down, 
The  glasses  of  wine  did  go  merrily  roun'. 
"  Here  is  to  thee.  Jack,  and  here  is  to  thee, 
And  all  the  bonnie  lassies  in  our  countrie." 
"  Here  is  to  thee,  Tom,  and  here  is  to  thee. 
And  long  they  may  leuk  for  thee  and  me  !  " 

The  last  line  of  this  stanza  gives  the  reader  leave  to  infer 
that  the  luckless  Borderers  were  escaping  from  the  consequences 
of  some  blood-stained  foray. 

'Twas  early  next  morning,  afore  the  break  of  day, 
They  mounted  their  horses,  and  so  they  rode  away. 
Poor  Jack,  he  died  upon  a  far  foreign  shore, 
And  Tom,  he  was  never,  never  heard  of  more. 

Communicated  by  the  editor  to  William  Jordan,  Esq,,  and 
given  by  him  in  the  Literary  Gazette.  See  vol.  for  1848,  pp. 
460,  461. 

The  Mosstrooper's  Grave. 

From  the  Lake  of  Grindon  a  small  burn  *  issues  and  flows 
about  two  miles  in  a  westerly  course,  when  it  is  suddenly  lost  in 
a  fissure  in  its  rocky  passage  in  the  limestone,  popularly  known 
as  a  "swallow  hole."  Tradition  states  that  a  young  mosstrooper, 
in  attempting  to  rob  a  farmyard  in  the  neighbourhood,  was  shot 
by  one  of  the  servants  and  brought  to  the  lonely  "  swallow  hole'* 
and  there  buried.  Upon  this  tradition  a  ballad  was  founded, 
which  I  fear  is  now  lost. 

*  Chinely-burn. 


348  THE  DENHAM  TRACTS. 

The  Roman  Wall. 

The  common  people  of  the  dales  through  which  the  wall  runs 
have  a  tradition  that  this  formidable  line  of  demarcation  was 
built  by  the  joint  endeavours  of  Mitchell  Scott,*  and  the  Devil, 
and  that  they  finished  their  work  in  a  fortnight. 

The  more  popular  myth  is,  however,  and  it  goes  very  far 
towards  proving  Mitchell  a  much  cleverer  fellow  than  his  mate, 
that  the  former  built  the  wall  alone,  and  that,  too,  in  a  single 
night!— [J.  H.] 

Border  Reivers'  Praier. 

He  that  ordained  us  to  be  born, 
Send  us  more  meat  for  the  morn, 
Part  oft  right  and  part  oft  wrang, 
God  never  let  us  fast  owre  lang. 
God  be  thanked,  and  our  Lady, 
All  is  done  that  we  had  rea(?y. 

The  foregoing  "  prayer  used  by  thieves  and  robbers  of  the 
Borders  after  meat,  in  order  to  stealing  from  their  neighbours  " 
on  the  morrow,  is  excerpted  from  Mr  George  Sinclair's  tome, 
Satayi's  Invisible  World  Discovered^  Edin.,  1769,  I2mo  [Edition 
of  1815,  p.  148]. 

Berwick  Bairns,  &c.,  &c. 

"  Hereafter  then,  should  any  of  his  English  or  Scottish  neigh- 
bours," in  allusion  to  the  town  of  Berwick,  ''  having  long  been 
deemed  a  district  distinct  from  both  countries,  cast  up  to  any 
Berwick  bairn  as  we  have  oft  heard  done,  '  That  after  England 
and  Scotland  were  made,  Berwick  was  formed  of  the  useless 
rubbish  that  was  left,^  let  him  boldly  ask  the  name  of  the  calum- 
niator's calf-town,  and  it  is  ten  to  one  but  he  nan  retort  the 


*  i.e.  Michael  Scott,  the  wizard, 


POPULAR  RHYMES^  ETC.^  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.      349 

snrcasm  by  telling  him  that  Berwick  was  born  and  named  and 
looked  bonnily  out  on  the  sea  as  a  new  busked  bride,  before 
the  place  of  his  nativity  had  either  '  a  local  habitation  or  a 
name.'      Should  he  be  a  Newcastle  Keeler,  he  may  tell  him 

that  his  town  is  but  an  upstart  of  yesterday  in  com- 

parisnn.  As  the  Israelites  of  old  had  their  proverb  '  From  Dan 
to  Beersheba,'  the  Scots  have  their  '  Frae  Maidenkirk  to  John 
o'  Groats,'  so  the  country  folks  in  England  have  a  similar  pro- 
verbial distich,  which  fairly  casts  those  of  Jew  and  Sawnie  into 
the  shade,  and  which  clinks  sweepingly  thus  : — 

From  Berwick  to  Dover 
All  the  world  over." 

Hogg's  Weekly  Instructor,  New  Series,  i.,  384,  Edin.,  1848. 
The  communication  is  signed  Paedeutes. —  [J.  H.] 


LoRBOTTLE  (ante,  pp.  18,  19). 

In  addition  to  the  efforts  of  the  inhabitants  of  Lorbottle  to 
secure  the  cuckoo,  told  at  p.  19,  it  is  currently  reported 
that  they  made  an  attempt  to  gain  exclusive  possession  of  the 
moon.  Observing  that  the  pale-faced  luminary  was,  evening 
after  evening,  on  the  top  of  the  neighbouring  hill  of  Addycomb, 
the  sages  of  Lorbottle  concluded  that  she  might  be  caught  there. 
They  accordingly  determined  on  an  expedition  for  this  purpose, 
and  had  a  sledge  made  whereon  to  convey  their  captive  home. 
The  first  night  they  were  disappointed  and  grieved  at  finding 
themselves  too  late,  as  she  had  just  fled  out  of  reach.  It  was 
then  determined  to  be  there  in  sufficient  time  the  following 
night  and  wait  her  arrival.  But  alas  !  they  had  the  mortifica- 
tion to  find  that  the  modest  oib  shunned  their  approach  ;  for 
when  they  first  caught  a  glimpse  of  her  she  was  peering  over 


350  THE  DENHAM  TEACTS. 

the  next  hill  to  the  eastward.  But  the  efforts  of  the  Lorbottleltes 
Avere  as  vain  as  those  of  the  primitive  Arcadians  cliasing  the 
sun. 

These  stories  show  that  the  simple-minded  folks  of  Lorbottle, 
like  many  others  in  a  similar  condition,  yet  living,  had  an  eye 
to  their  own  interest ;  and  that  utilitarianism  does  not  belong 
exclusively  to  (though  it  is  undoubtedly  one  of  its  most  dis- 
tinguishing characteristics  of)  the  present  age. —  [Thomas 
Arkle.] 

[A  parallel  incident  to  this  is  told  about  the  "  Newbiggin 
folks  and  the  moon."  Newbiggin,  in  the.  parish  of  Oxnam,  in 
Roxburghshire,  was  a  village  made  up  of  small  proprietors, 
holding  of  the  Marquis  of  Lothian,  as  representative  of  the 
Abbots  of  Jedburgh,  who  were  finally  evicted,  with  scant  justice, 
in  the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  for  defect  of  legal  titles. 
"  The  favourite  story  kept  up  against  the  '  folks  o'  Newbiggin  ' 
has  always  been  that  of  their  attempt  to  catch  the  moon.  The 
legend  goes  that  they  from  time  to  time,  seeing  the  moon 
shining  over  the  hill,  took  it  into  their  heads  to  try  to  lay  hold 
of  it.  They  therefore  formed  themselves  into  a  band  one  night, 
and  placing  a  ladder  upon  a  sled,  they  climbed  to  the  top  of 
Jock's  Hill,  intending  to  rest  the  ladder  foot  there,  and  thereby 
capture  the  luminary.  To  their  surprise  they  found  themselves 
as  far  as  ever  from  the  moon,  and  they  felt  baffled  and  descended 
the  hill.  On  reaching  the  village  one  of  the  party  declared,  to 
his  as^tonishment,  he  found  the  moon  shining  into  the  hen-baulks. 
The  moon,  they  concluded,  was  too  fickle  to  lay  hold  of.  No 
Newbiggin  man,  woman,  or  child  ever  heard  of  the  end  of  the 
moon  affair."— Mr.  William  Brockie,  in  Border  Treasury, 
p.  186,  who  appears  to  have  had  it  from  James  Telfer,  of 
Saughtree. — J.  H.] 

Ross  for  rabbits  and  Elswick  for  kail, 

Of  a'  the  towns  e'er  I  saw,  Howick  for  ale  ; 


POPULAR  RHYMES^  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  NORTHDMBERLAND.       351 

Howick  for  ale,  and  Kyloc"  for  scrubbers, 

Of  a'  the  towns  e'er  I  saw,  Lowick  for  robbers  ; 

Lowick  for  robbers,  Buckton  for  bread, 

Of  a'  tlie  towns  e'er  I  saw,  Holy  Island  for  need  ; 

Holy  Island  for  need,  and  Grindon  for  kyc, 

Of  a'  the  towns  e'er  I  saw,  Doddington  for  rye  ; 

Doddington  for  rye,  Bowisdon  for  rigs, 

Of  a'  the  towns  e'er  I  saw,  Barmoor  for  Whigs  ; 

Barmoor  for  Whigs,f  Tweedmouth  for  doors. 

Of  a'  the  towns  e'er  I  saw,  Ancroft  for  whores  ; 

Ancroft  for  whores,  and  Spittal  for  fishers, 

Of  a'  the  towns  e'er  I  saw,  Berrington  for  dishes, J 

Howick  I  cannot  locate  satisfactorily.  The  other  fourteen 
villages  are  either  within  the  circuit  of  North  Durham,  or  close 
upon  its  boundaries. 

"  Let  it  be  booked  with  the  rest." — Shakespeare. 
The  Si'iTTALLERs  Butter  their  Bread  on  Both  Sides. § 

The  village  of  Spittal  is  becoming  famous  as  a  watering- 
place,  but  I  am  unable  to  speak  definitely  as  to  whether  the 
saying  hints  at  the  affection  of  the  natives  or  visitors  in  their 
''  liking  of  good  living.^'  ["  Buttering  them  up  "  means  flattery, 
in  which  the  Spittal  folks  are  said  to  have  gained  extraordinary 
proficiency.] 

*  Being  close  on  the  moor  edge. 

f  Whigs  was  the  Northumbrian  reproach  for  Presbyterians,  and  is 
still  in  use  in  some  inland  localities.  In  Newcastle  they  and  other 
Nonconformists  were  called  **  Quigs." — J.  H. 

\  (?)  Dishers,  i.e.,  dish  turners. 

§  The  four  following  sayings  I  sent  to  Mr.  Denliam,  but  being  too 
late  to  be  included  in  liis  book  he  added  them  in  a  separate  brochure. 
It  was  tlie  last  of  his  tracts,  excepting  the  classified  catalogue  of  what 
he  had  written. — J,  H, 


352  THE  DENHAM  TEACTS. 

"  If  they  come,  they  wiuna  come, 
And  if  they  dinna  come,  they'll  come  hame." 

This  is  the  Woolei*  version  of  ''  an  old,  old,  very  old  "  Border 
saw,  already  recorded.  It  was  taken  down  from  the  lips 
of  a  local  antiquary  residing  at  the  above  town.  Happily 
the  saying  does  not  now  apply ;  yet  many  thanks  to  tradition 
for  preserving  it  in  its  primitive  native  garb.  It  refers  us  back 
to  the  period  wherein— if  the  reiving  Scots  came,  the  cattle  out 
grazing  [on  the  town's  common]  would  not  return  ;  but,  if  the 
Scots  made  no  raid,  the  cattle  were  all  safe. 

The  meikle  pot  o'Haggp.rstone  makes  mony  a  Papist. 

It  was  a  saying  about  Sir  Carnaby  Haggerstone,  who  was  a 
Koman  Catholic,  "  That  his  wife  made  more  converts  to  mass 
with  the  kale  pot  than  the  priest  did  with  preaching." 

Communicated  by  a  Scots  antiquary  who,  like  myself,  is  "  a 
snapper  up  of  unconsidered  trifles."  This  will  account  for  its 
appearing  in  a  Scottish  guise.  [I  must  here,  however,  say  that 
the  language  is  not  Scottish,  but  Northumbrian,  of  the  present 
day.— J.  H.] 

Up-hill,  turn  again. 
Round  about  the  Horlstane. 

An  old  bastile-house  [Hebburn  Castle  or  Tower,  the  old  seat  of 
the  family  of  Htbburn]  stands  in  the  southern  part  of  Chillingham 
Park,  from  which  a  concealed  passage  was  said  to  have  passed 
to  a  pillar-like  store,  named  the  Horl-stone  or  Hurl-stone,  in  a 
field  near  the  Now  Town  of  Chillingham  or  Chillingham  Newton. 
The  supposed  subterraneous  exit  is  indicated  by  the  above 
rhymes.     By  some  this  saying  is  applied  to  Cateran's  Hole, 


POPULAR  EHYMES,  ETC.,  RELATING  TO  NORTHUMBERLAND.      353 

but  those  versed  in  traditiou  say  that  Cateran's  Hole  runs  to 
Henshole. 

Horl-stone  is  by  some  conjectured  to  be  Earl's  Stone.  It 
was  erected  in  a  socket  by  Mr.  Jobson,  late  farmer  of  Chilling- 
ham  Newton  :  and  some  years  ago  had  a  portion  struck  off  it 
by  lightning. 


POST   SCRIPTUS. 


In  taking  this  final  leave  of  my  book,  "  I  referre  me  wholly 
to  the  learned  corrections  of  the  Wise ;  for  wel  I  wote,  that  no 
treatise  can  always  be  so  workmanly  handled  but  that  somewhat 
sometymes  may  fall  out  amisse,  contrarle  to  the  expectation  of 
the  Reader;  wherefore  my  petition  to  thee.  Gentle  Reader,  is  to 
accept  those  my  traveyles  wyth  that  minde  I  doe  offer  them  to 
Thee,  and  take  gently  that  I  give  gladly ;  in  so  doing,  I  shall 
thinke  my  paynes  well  bestoAved,  and  shall  bee  encouraged 
hereafter  to  trust  more  to  thy  courtesie." — Hill's  Physiognomy, 
Lond.  1571. 

Iterum  Vale  ! 

M.  A.  D. 


2  A 


355 


INDEX. 


[_Namcs  of  towns  or  other  jdaces,  when  not  accomjjanicd  by  a  descriptive  note 
are  place  names  which  occur  in  rhymes  orproverhs.] 


Aboo,  battle  cr^'  of  the  Irish,  123 

Agricultural  village,  13 

Ague,  gibbet  charm  for,  73 

Aislaby,  109 

Allan,  family  of,  69 

Allan  (Piper),  tunes  composed  by,  21 

Allendale,  333 

Alne,  310 

Alnwick,  20,  287,  334,  335 

freeman's  custom,  259-261 

tobacco,  35 

Alterbum,  335 

Anagram  on  Henry  Percy,  229 

on  George  Clifford,  Earl  of 

Cumberland,  172 

Ancroft,  11,86,  351 

Anfield,  68 

Anglos,  conversion  of,  to  Christianity, 
63 

Animals,  magic,  24 

horns  of,  fixed  on  trees,  215 

Appleby,  219 

Archery  butts,  180 

Arms,  coat  of,  Yorkshireman's,  119 

Arms  of  the  Isle  of  Man,  187,  196, 
198,  199 

Armstrong  (Archie),  176-177 

Armstrong,  family  of,  248-249 

Ascension  Day,  aquatic  procession  on, 
306 

Ashton  (Sir  Kalph),  102-103 

Askew's  ducks,  35 

Assize  rhymes,  308,  309 

Athol,  Duke  of.  King  of  Man,  188-189 

Auckland  (West)  provei'b,  60 

Aurora  Borealis,  superstitions  concern- 
ing, 251-252 

Axwell  Park,  91 

Babington  (Sir  John),  257 
Backside,  dialect  use  of  the  word,  89 
Balcanqual  (Dr.  W.)>  Dean  of  Dur- 
ham, 41 


Baldrick  or  broad  belt  worn  by  men 

of  high  station,  142 
Baliol   (Edward),   King  of    Scotland, 

legend,  215-216 
Ballad  of  the  Orton  Boggle,  225-226 
"  The  Black  Sow  o'  Rimside," 

321 
"  Poor  Jack  and  Tom,"  346- 

347 
Balliol  family,  114 
Balliol   (John),  cowardice   attributed 

to,  104-5 
Bamboroughshire,  336 
Bambrough  Castle,  19 
Banbury,  Mayor  of,  55 
Banton,  220 

Barbachlee,  Scotland,  91 
Barge  day  at  Newcastle,  305 
Bannoor,  351 

Barnabas  (St.)  Day,  tradition  concern- 
ing, 79 
Barnard  Castle,  81-84,  98,  104 

feuds  at,  74-75 

Barney  Castle,  108 

Barnkins,  border  stronghold,  152 

Barnscar,  165 

Barrington  (Hon.  Shute),  Bishop   of 

Durham,  106 
Barton,  182 

Bastle  House,  border  stronghold,  152 
Batablers,  inhabitants    of    debateable 

lands,  150 
Bath,  go  to,  a  maledictory  expression, 

46 
Bathket,  Scotland,  91 
Battle  cry  of  the  Irish,  123 
Battles,  see  '*  Bramham  Moor,"  "  Flod- 

den,"   "  Otterburn,"   "  Sheriffmuir," 

"  Shrewsbury,"  "  Towton," 
Bavington  Syke,  237 
Bears,  name  of  Berwick  derived  from, 

6 
Bciufront,  259 


2  a2 


356 


INDEX. 


Beckermont,  1G5,  178 

Bcde,  birthplace  of,  43 

chair  of,  in  Jarrow  Church,  110- 

111;  chip  from,  charm  to   procure 

children,*67 
Bedlington  terriers,  35 
Bedlingtonshire,  formerly  in  Durham, 

91 
Bedstead  in  Naworth  Castle,  17  7 
Beggars,  popular  rhyme  founded  upon, 

93 
Belford,  11,  270 

Bell  at  Hexham  Abbey  church,  281 
Bell,  church,  rhymes,  213 

■  ringing  at  Newcastle,  308 

rope,  story  about  a,  86-87 

Bellasis  family,  90-97,  114 

Bellingham,  339 

Bellingham  (Sir  Alan),  243 

Belt,  of  Highlandman,  81  ;    baldrick 

called,  142 
Benchester,  91 
Benfieldside,  92 
Bennet  (William),  prior  of  Finchale, 

53 
Berrington,  22,  351 
Bertram  family,  114 
Berwick-on-Tweed,  281-292 
Berwick,  sayings  relating  to,  2-6,  348, 

349 

slogan,  134,  276 

Bessie  with  the  broad  apron,  143 
Bessy  o'  Borrowdale,  169 
Beswick's  kye,  214 
Betsey  Caius,  ship  so  called,  25-26 
Bewcastle,  150,  160 
Biddick,  111 

Biddick,  go  to,  a  maledictory  expres- 
sion, 46 
Biddick,  lawless  town  of,  60 
Biddleston,  19 

wheat  stack  of,  37 

Bildershaw,  hill  near  Piercebridge,  92 

Billy,  dialect  word,  Berwick,  292 

Billymill,  333 

Billy-row,  a  Durham  Tillage,  45 

Bingfield  Comb,  237 

Binsey,  93 

Bishop  Auckland,  93 

Black  Boy,  a  Dui-ham  village,  45 

Lad,  riding    the,    of    Ashton- 

under-Lyne,  103 
Black  diamonds,  name  for  coal,  306 
Black    Indies,    name    for  Newcastle, 

306 
Black  Tom  of  the  North,  147-148 
Blake'.aw,  329 


Blakestone  family,  115 

Blayden,  322 

Bloodhounds,  154-155 

Bloody  hand,  robber  taken  in  the  act, 

157 
Bine,  colour  of  Manx  dress,  199 
Blythe,  310,  312 
Bodsbeck,   the    Ettrick  Forest   fairy, 

202 
Boggle,  the  Orton,  a  ballad,  225-226 
Bogglehole,  339 
Bokanki,  name  for  cowards,  4 1 
Bolam  Cross,  95 
Bolliope,  112 

Border  cattle  stealers,  175-176 
Borrowdale,  175,  182 
Boulmer  gin,  35 
Bowes  family,  100-101,  115 

slogan,  138-139 

Bowes  (Squire),  of  Thornton  Hall,  66 

Bowfell,  mountain,  159 

Bowisdon,  351 

Bowsdon,  11 

Brackenbury  familv,  98,  103,  114 

Bradford,  238 

Brafiferton,  76 

Bramham  Moor,  battle  of,  230 

Brampton,  166 

Brandling  family,  247 

Branks  at  Durham,  52  ;  at  Newcastle, 

294 
Bribery  at  elections,  6 
Brigham,  183 

Broach,  north  of  England  word,  77 
Brough,  213-214,  222 
Brown  (William),  highway  robber,  66, 

78 
Brownie,  Scottish,  201,  202 
Brussleton,  89 
Buckingham,  174 
Bnckton,  351 
Budle  cockles,  35 
Building   legends,   Crookham,  10-11; 

Manx,  202-203 
Building  traditions,  348 
Balls,  red,  of  Berrington,  22 
Bulmer  family,  115 

slogan,  131,  276 

Bumblers,    name     for    the    Derwent 

legion,  68 
Burcastle,  304 
Burdon  family,  115 
Burial  customs  during  the  plague,  11 
Burning  Spears,  name  for  the  Northern 

Lights,  252 
Burns  (Robert),  lines  supposed  to  be 

by, 287 


INDEX. 


357 


Burr  of  Northumberland  dialect,  28 

Burrell  family,  13-14,  270 

Bnsy  gap,  345 

Butterbum,  262-263 

Butterby  churchgoer,  40 

Bntterwick,  94 

Byerley  (Colonel),  regiment  of,  68 

Byke  Hill,  259 


Cakes,  Shrove  Tuesday,  200 

Calais  alluded  to,  in  Berwick  rhyme.  3 

Caldbeck,  162-163 

Calder,  river,  158,  182 

Calf-yard,  birthplace  or  fireside,  306 

Callaly  Castle,  building  tradition,  32.3- 
324 

Cannibalism  of  mosstroopers,  154 

"  Canny  Newcastle,"  309 

Canute,  King,  tradition  of,  94 

Capoatree,  149 

Card  playing,  332,  342 

Cards,  anecdote  about,  217 

saying  used  in  games  of,  236 

name  for  four  of  hearts,  298 

Carel,  i.e.  Carlisle,  fair,  180 

Carey's  raid,  157-158 

Carham  Hough,  7 

Carlisle,  147,  149,  150,  180,  181 

Carpets,  absence  of,  indicated  by  a 
tradition,  177-178 

Cartington,  343 

Caster  pence,  Konian  coins  so  called, 
91 

Casticam,  mountain,  161 

Casticand,  mountain,  158 

Castle  banks,  329 

Castle  Rushen,  Man,  legend  of,  197- 
198 

Castlecon,  Man,  203 

Cat,  Manx,  186,  198-199 

Catchedecam,  mountain,  159 

Cateran's  hole,  352-353 

Cattle,  proverbial  saying  about  Dur- 
ham, 64 

old     Northumbrian,    of    red 

colour,  22 

Cauld  Lad  of  Hilton,  202 

Cave  at  Stockton,  tradition  as  to,  108 

Charles  I.,  in  popular  tradition,  163 

at  Durham,  39 

Charm,  gibbet  used  as,  73 

Chatton,  14,  272,  273 

Cheeseburn  Grange,  334 

Chest,  town,  of  Newcastle^  60 

Chester-Ie-Street,  67,  77 


Cheswick,  321,331 

Cheviot,  12 

Cheviots,  317,  318,  325,  330 

Cheviot  sheep,  35  ;  honey,  35 

Chevy  Chase,  30 

Children  played  for,  67 

pilgrimage   to  Finchalc   to 

obtain,  54 

wishing  chair  for  procuring, 


109,  111 
Chillingham,  14,  272,  273,  325 
Christianity,  ignorance  of,  by  Durham 

woman,  106 
Church  building  legend,  Manx,  202-203 

legend,  10-11 

veneration  for  the    building, 

197 
Civil  war,  anecdote  of,  307 
Civil  war  incident,  93,  210-211 
Clan  tunes,  239 
Clannishness  of  Northumberland  folkj 

274 
Clavering,  family  of,  91 
Claxton  family,  115 
Clea,  182 

Clergy,  stipend  of,  148 
Clifton,  183 

Clothes,  fairy's  objection  to,  201 
Clothing,  proverb  on  bad,  109 
Clouds,  weather  indications  of,  7 
Coal  tax,  24 

Coat  Garth  farmstead,  218 
Cocker,  183 

river,  158 

Cockermouth,  182 

Cockfield,  83,  86 

Cocklaw,  337 

Cockles,  famous  at  Bedwell,  19 

Coffin  Brigg,  217 

Coins,  Roman,  popular  names  for,  91 

Coldingham,  288 

Coldingham  Moor,  273 

Collingwood  family,  100,  243 

Collingwood  (Lord),  341 

Conyers  family,  115 

Cooper  (Matthew),  Canon  of  Durham, 

44 
Coquet,  275,313,315 
Coquetdale  man,  37 
Corby,  181 

Cornwood,  mountain,  159 
Coster  pence,  Roman  coins  so  called, 

91 
Costume,  see  "  Dress  " 
County  boundary  of  Durham,  91 

characteristics,  166 

Conpland  (Sir  John),  31 


3.58 


INDEX. 


Com-ts  of  the  Bioliop  of  Durham,  99 
101 

Coverdale,  177 

Cowards,  name  for,  41 

Cox  Green,  77 

Craddock  family,  115 

Cradock,  cunning  as,  proverb,  45 

Craike,  formerly  in  Dui'ham,  91 

Crankies,  name  for  pitmen.  293 

Crasters,  family  of,  238 

Crawhall,  266 

Cricket,  saying  used  in  game  of,  91 

Croakumshire,  name  for  Northumber- 
land, 304 

Ci'ookham,  10 

Crookhouse,  10 

Crossfell,  mountain,  159 

Crowley  (Sir  Ambrose),  59 

Crowdy,  Shrove  Tuesday,  200 

Crozier,  family  of,  115,  247 

Cruelsyke,  314 

Crusades,  legend  of,  69,  97 

Cuckoo  story  at  Lorbottle,  261-262 

Cud-doos,  St.  Cuthbert's  pigeons,  35 

Culburnie,  Scotland,  91 

Cumberland  rhymes,  141-185 

Cumwhitton,  ai'chery  butts  at,  180 

Cup-markings,  336 

Cups,  fairy,  119 

Cursing  proverb,  Manx,  197 

Custom,  preservation  of,  inculcated  by 
a  proverb,  192 

Cutbbert  (St.),  stone  boat  of,  8-9 

Cuthbert's  (St.)  beads,  35 

ducks,  35 

patrimony,  100 

pence,   coins    found   at 

Carlisle  called,  181 


Dacres  (Lord),  killed  at  Towton,  113- 
144 

Dagger  money,  155 

Dalby,  Man,  203 

Dalstone,  183 

Dalton,  86 

Dancing,  peculiar  step,  299 

tune,  Durham,  35 

Danes,  Barnscar  built  by,  165 

Darlington,  52,  78-80 

Darlington  (Harry  Vane,  Earl  of), 
62 

Davy  shield,  268,  311 

Dean,  182,  183 

Death,  customs  at,  during  plague,  11 

places  of,  remaining  perma- 
nent, 5 


Death,  prognostication  of,  3 

Debatcable  lands,  inhabitants  of  the, 
150-151 

Deemster,  oath  of.  Isle  of  Man,  186- 
187 

Defoe  (Daniel),  anecdote  of,  63 

Demons  and  church  building,  Manx, 
202-203 

Dent,  218 

Derwent,  river,  158 

legion,  called  Bumblers,  68 

Derwentwater  (James  Ratcliffe,  Ejirl 
of),  250-251 

Devil,  Donnat,  a  name  for,  110 

and  his  mother,  159 

Devil,  legend  of,  335,  336 

Devil's  water  dog,  otters  so  called, 
87 

Devonshire  legend,  329 

Dialect  of  Berwick,  288  ;  Newcastle, 
292 

of  Darlingtonshire,  79 

Northumberland,  28 

Westmoreland,  223,  see  "  Back- 
side," "  Billy,"  "  Binchester  Pen- 
nies," "  Broach,"  "  Foreigners," 
•'  Gaunts,"  "  Hunt,"  «  Loans," 
"  Yellerish  " 

Dill,  310- 

Dilston,  322 

Distington.  182 

Doddington,  13,272,351 

Dogs,  places  famous  for  breeding  of, 
82 

Donnat,  a  worthless  wretch  ,110 

Door-head  inscription,  224 

Dorrington,  14 

Dorsetshire  Dorsers,  166 

Downham,  9 

Dress,  Manx  national,  199 

see      "  Baldrick,"      "  Belt," 

"  Blue,"  "  Green,"  "  Tartan" 

Drig,  165,  178 

Drowned  persons,  7 

Druids,  supposed  haunt  of,  221 

Drunkard's  cloak,  punishment,  293- 
294 

Duck  (Sir  John},  rhyme  on,  44,  49 

Dufton,  s.aying  concerning,  165 

Dullish,  bye-name  for  Castleton  folk, 
Manx,  203 

Dun  cow,  legend  of,  38 

Dunelm  of  crab,  a  piece  of  ancient 
cooker}',  47 

Dunstanborough,  267 

D union,  317 

Dunterley,  339 


INDEX. 


359 


Dnrham  (city  of),  rhymes  and  phrases 
relating  to,  1,  38-53 

Bishops  of,  riches  of,  39 

Bishopric  of,  rhymes,  &c.,  re- 
lating to,  53-120 

Button,  river,  158 


Eaglesfield,  183 

Eamont,  river,  158 

Earsdon,  333 

Easter  Monday  custom,  103 

Eden  river,  158,  180,  206-207 

Edenhali,  luck  of,  119,  183-185 

Egdale,  220 

Egglescliffe,  109 

Egremont,  182 

Elf  hills,  211 

Elieshaw,  314,  329 

Ellen,  river,  158 

Elliesheugh,  330 

Elliots,  family  of,  218,  250 

Elsdon  moat,  339 

English    border  sayings  against  the, 

28-29 
Epitaphs,  44,  45,  62,  72,  170,  172,  173, 

205,  212,  222,  255,  265,  297 
Eshott  Hall,  332 
Esk,  river,  158 
Eslingto^,  17 
Essex  calves,  166 
Ettrick  Forest  fairy,  202 
Etymology  (folk)    of  Berwick,  6,   f- 

10,  163, 216 
Evenwood,  84-85 
Evers  family,  115 
Eyemouth,  288 


Fair  at  Carlisle,  180 

Fairies,  adventures  with,  116-119 

robbery  from,  184,  185 

of  Rothley,  270 

Manx,   201-202,  see  "Bogle," 

"  Brownie,"  "  Ettrick,"  "  Goblin," 

"  Hilton  " 
Fairs  at  Keswick,  162 
Family  slogans,  124-129, 132-134,  134- 

140,  276 
Farmer's  proverb,  178 
Farm  holdings  in  common,  338 
Fasting  of  the  monks,  rhyme  on,  11 
Fecundity,  54,  67,  109,  110 
Feet,  peculiar  shape  of,  among  Lor- 

bottle  people,  262 
Felton,  20,  113,  269 
Fenwick  shield,  23 


Feawick  slogans,  125-127 

rhymes,  234-236 

Fenwick  (Sir  John),  340  ^ 

Ferry  Hill,  94 

Feuds,  border,  74-75 

tribal,  155-156 

Fiery  cross,  or  message  spear,  241 

Finchale,  53;  pilgrimage  to,  to  ensure 
offspring,  54 

Priory,    wishing    chair    at 

109 

Finger  game,  nursery,  182 

Fishburn,  94 

Fisherman,  weather  sayings  of,  7 

Flodden,  battle  of,  179 

Edge,  32 

Folk  etymology,  6,  9,  10,  163 

Folk-moot  at  Tynwald,  Isle  of  Man, 
189-90 

Font,  310 

Fool,  the  Bishop's,  39 

Foreigners,  name  for  neighbouring 
townsfolk,  22 

Forest,  ancient,  indicated  in  place 
rhymes,  91 

Fors'ter  family,  268 

Foster  family,  115 

Foulthorpe  family,  115 

Framlington,  21 

clover,  36 

Frosterley,  110 

Fruchie,  go  to,  a  maledictory  expres- 
sion, 46,  86 


Gainford,  103 
Gallows  at  Durham,  52 
Games,  boys',  151-152,  235-236 

nursery,  182,  237,  240 

competitive,  on  the  Marches, 

319 
Garmondsway  Moor,  93 
Garter,  institution  of  the,  9 
Garth  family,  1 15 
Gateshead,  80-81,  301 
Gateside,  107 

"  Gaunts,"  sighs,  yawns,  329 
Gelt,  peak  of   Helvellyn    mountains, 

160 

river,  158 

Bridge,  execution  of  Jacobites  at, 

162 
Geordie,  a  collier  vessel  from  the  Tyne, 

25 
Geordies,    sailors    from    Shields    so 

called,  70  ;  Newcastle,  71 
George  I.,  anecdote  of,  51 


360 


INDEX. 


Gerse  dyke,  Eoman  earthwork,  178 

Ghost  of  Percy  Keed,  247 

walking,  24 

Ghosts  of  executed  rebels,  149 

Giant  legends,  112,  197-198 

of  Troutbeck,  206 

Gibbet  charm  for  ague  and  toothache, 
73 

Gilpin  (Bernard),  57 

Gilpin  (Richardj,  -n-ild  boar  slain  by, 
205 

Gilsland  well,  164 

Ginger-bread,  manufacture  of,  at  Bar- 
nard Castle,  83 

Barney  Castle,  108 

Gipsy  ground,  314,  315 

Glanton  greens,  35 

Glendale,  ten  towns  of,  31 

Gluttony,  rhyme  as  to,  1 8 

Gobbocks,  bye-name  for  Dalby  folk, 
jSIanx,  203 

Goblin,  cauld  lad  o'  Hylton,  55-57 

Hobthrnsh,  339 

Goose  pasture,  right  of,  148 

Gooseberries,  bribes  at  elections  so 
called,  6 

Gordon,  Jean,  story  of,  172-173 

Gotham,  name  for  Newcastle,  303 

Gotharaite  stories,  19,  166,  349-350 

see  "Cuckoo,"  "Gowks" 

Gowks  of  Glendale,  12 

men  of  Weardale,  so  called,  96 

Graemes,  border  thieves,  146 

Graysouthen,  183 

Green,  dress  of  fairies,  116 

Greta,  river,  158 

Grey  family,  256-257 

Grindon,  351 

Gwonny  Jokesane's  day,  26 


Hadden,  9 

Haddock  boys,  bye-name  for  Peel  folk, 

Manx,  203 
Haggerstonn,  Sir  Camaby,  352 
Hail,  182 
Hall,  family  of,  247 

famil}',  of  Berwick,  14-15 

Hall  (Shankev),  69 

Haltwhistle,  2"'67 

Hampshire  hogs,  166 

Hamsterley,  110 

Hang-bank,  hill  near  Melsonby,  Yorks, 

92 
Hang-a-dyke  Nook,  opposite  Berwick 

Castle,  6 
Hanging  incident  at  Bowsdon,  11-12 


Hanging-stone,  328-329 

Hang  the  fellow,  141-142 

Hansard  family,  115 

Hants,  Roman  coins  called  onion  pen- 
nies in,  91 

Hap,  meaning  of,  296 

Harnham,  238 

Harper's  warning.  271 

Harraby  Hill,  147 

Harrington,  22,  182 

Hartlepool,  89,  111 

■ Mayor  of,  55,  67 

Hartley,  333 

Harvest,  the  white,  179 

Harwood,  107 

Hawkey,  rhyming  proverb  on  the  name, 
71-72 

Head  lam,  89 

Hearths,  construction  of,  332 

Heaton,  265-266 

Hebburn,  332 

Heckley  fence,  335 

Hector's  cloak,  242 

Hedgehope,  12 

Hell-kettles,  three  deep  pits  so  called, 
79 

Helm-wind,  218 

Hendon, 91 

Heron,  local  name  for,  76 

Heron  (Sir  George),  256 

Heron  slogan,  138,  276 

Herring,   alluded  to   in    oath    of  the 
Deemster,  Isle  of  Man,  186-187 

fishery.  Isle  of  Man,  191-192 

Hesleyside,  337,  339 

Hett,  94 

Hetton,  65 

Hexham,  278-281,344 

glovers,  35 

Hildesley,  Bishop  of  Man,  200 

Hilton,  cauld  lad  o',  55-57,  202 

Hingham,  182 

Hiring  of  servants,  Manx,  199 

Hobthrush,  goblin,  339 

Holme  Cultram,  169 

Holy  Island,  327,  351 

Holy  mawl  rhymes,  170-171 

Holy  Rood  Day,  stag  offered  on,  a 
Durham  Priory,  95 

Holy  Well,  333  ;  see  «  Wells  "  . 

Horse,  value  of,  to  borderers,  17 

Horstone,  legend  of,  352-353 

Horton,  14 

Hotspur,  prognostication  of  his  death, 
8 

Howard  (Lord  William),  141-143 

Howden-pan,  261 


INDEX. 


361 


Howdenshire,  formerly  in  Durham,  91 

Howick,  332,  351 

Humshangh,  337 

Hundred,  division  of  tovrnship,  206 

Hunt,    folk-etymology    derived    from 

incidents  of  the,  9-10 
Hunterley,  339 
Hunting  song,  fragment,  16 
Huntingdonshire  sturgeons,  166 
Hurrock,  piled-up   heap  [of   rubbish], 

105 
Hutchinson    (Barnabas),    proctor    of 

Durham,  45 
Hutton-Henry,  90 
Hylton  family,  71-72,  82,  115 
Hythe,  kin,  be  akin  to,  65 


Iceton,  68 

Impiety,  punishment  for,  79 
Indecision,  popular  saying  as  to,  18 
Insula  (Robert  de).  Bishop  of  Durham, 

47 
Inundations  from  the  Tees,  87 
Ireland,  otters  in,  87 
Irish,  Manx  proverb  against,  192-193 
Irish,  battle  cry  of  ^  1 23 
Irt,  river,  158 
Irving,  river,  158 

Islandshire,  formerly  in  Durham,  91 
Iver-ha',  339 


James  I.,  anecdote  of,  61,  92,  151,  156 

union  of  crown  under,  250 

James  II.  [Duke  of  York],  anecdote 
of,  80 

Jamie,  a  collier  vessel  from  the  Wear, 
25 

Jamie  Hedley's  clover,  36 

Jammies,  sailors  from  Sunderland 
so  called,  71 

Jarrow,  88-89 

birthplace  of  Bede,  43 

Church,  Bede's  chair  in,  110- 

111 

Javelin,  fairy,  118 

Jedworth  slogans,  127-128 

Jennison  family,  115 

Jesus  Christ,  allusion  to  as  a  gentle- 
man, 106 

Johnson  (Ambrose),  family  of,  75 

Judges,  custom  of  meeting  on  Shirrey 
Moor,  81 

Jury,  verdicts  of,  223 


KaberKigg,  217 

Keeldar  stone,  268-269 

Keepick,  337 

Keir,  river,  220 

Kendal,  208.  219,  222,  223 

Kent,  river,  220 

Kent,  yeoman  of,  259 

Kentish  long  tails,  166 

Keswick  Fair,  102 

Kilham,  9 

King  of  Patterdale,  145-146 

Kings,  petty,  of  Northumberland   and 

Westmoreland,  207-208 
Kinnyside,  182 
Kirby,  Stephen,  213 
Kirkby  Lonsdale,  208-209 
Kissing  Hill,  217 
Kleptomania,  anecdote  of,  224 
Knipe,  219 
Knock,  207 

Knock-kneed  person,  saying  about,  48 
Kyloe,  351 


Ladford  farmstead,  218 

Laidlaw  worm,  1 9-20 

Laird,  Northumberland  title  of,  258 

Lamberton,  marriages  at,  289 

Lambton,  111 

Lambton  family,  106,  115 

Lambton  worm,  46,  64-65 

Lancashire  Lonks,  166 

saying,  180 

Land,  small  value  of,  to  borderers,  17 
Lands  End,  alluded    to,   in   Berwick 

rhyme,  3 
Lanercost,  183 
Langbarrow  pennies,  Roman  coins  so 

called,  91 
Langleyford  farmhouse,  12 
Lartington,  81 
Lauvellin,  mountain,  158 
Lawbottle,  cuckoo  story,  349-350 
Lawless  men,  gathering  of,  at  Biddick, 

00 
Laws,  local,  superseding  general  law, 

60 
Lee  (St.  John),  268 
Lceball  family,  257-258 
Legends  and    traditions    of    Edward 

Baliol,  216-216;  St.  Barnabas  Dav, 

79 
Legends,  Devonshire,  329  ;   of  devil, 

335-336 
Legs-Cross,  hill  near  Melsonby,  Yorks, 

92 
Leicestershire  Beanbellies,  166 


362 


INDEX. 


Leven,  river,  158 

Lewick,  village  of,  36 

Liddal,  river,  158 

Lilburne  familv,  115 

Lilburne  (John),  58-59 

Lincolnshire  bagpipers,  166     • 

Lisleburn,  275,  342 

Little,  family  of,  border  rievers,  C5 

Lively  (John),  Vicar  of  Kelloe,  58 

Loans,  places  where  cows  are  milked 

in  common  pasture,  329 
Local  slogans,  129-132,  134 
Lockford  farmstead,  218 
London    (Little),    a    part  of  Bishop 

Auckland,  105 

towns  called  "Litile,"  182 

• lickpennies,  166 

Long  Meg  and  her  Daughters,  166 
Longhaugh,  339 
Longtown,  333 
Lorbottle,  18 

cubs  of,  37 

cuckoo  story  of,  261-262 

Lowdore,  river,  209 

Lowick,  351 

Lowther  family,  209,  223-224 

Luhberts,  people  of  Anfield,  so  called, 

68 
Luck  of  Edenhall,  183-185 

of  Muncaster,  185 

Lumley  family,  61,  70,  115 


MacCullock  (Cutlar),  a  Gallovidian 
rover,  190-191 

Maddison  family,  1 1 5 

Mainsforth,  85 

Mair  family,  115 

Mar.,  Isle  of,  arms  of,  187,  196,  198, 
199 ;  king  of,  188-189  ;  popular 
rhymes,  etc.,  of,  186 

Manx  fairy  cup,  1 19 

Marches,  or  debateable  land,  276 

Mare  and  her  foal,  stone  monument, 
166 

Marriage  ceremony  at  Jarrow,  67 

Marriage  custom,  82 

Marriage,  objection  against,  to  non- 
townsfolk,  22 

rhymes  relating  to,  21 

Marriages  at  Lamberton,  289 

Man-iages,  border,  27-28 

Marwood,  84 

Mawl,  holy,  rhymes,  170-171 

Meadow  bank,  334 

Meldon,  322 


Merry  Dancers,  name  for  the  Northern 

Lights,  252 
Message  spear,  or  fiery  cross,  241 
Midden,  town,  at  Newcastle,  309 
Middleham,  93 
Middlesex  clo^vns,  166 
Midridge,  myth  of,  116-119 
Mite,  river,  158 
Mitford,  326 

Mock  mayor,  Ovingham,  26 
Monkchester,  old  name  for  Newcastle, 

305,  326 
Morden  Carrs,  88 
Morlan  Fair,  161-162 
Morpeth,  22-23,  265,   267,  287,   326, 

333 
Morton,  Bishop  of  Durham,  108 
Moss-troopers'  motto,  276 
Mounsey,  King  of  Patterdale,  145-146 
^Mountains  of   Northumberland,   309- 

318 
Mowbray  slogans,  137 
Muffled  man,  157 
Muncaster,  luck  of,  185 
Municipal  custom  at    Alnwick,    259- 

261  ;  at  Berwick,  283 
Murder  near  Lilbum  Allers,  15-16 
Musgrave,  213 
Mustard,  manufactured    at    Durham, 

48,  51' 


Nag  and  foot  tenements,  152 

Names  of  Northumberland  folk,  274 

National  antipathy  expressed  in  pro- 
verbs, 192-193 

Naworth,  183 

Naworth  Castle,  142 

Neck  verse,  147 

Neville  family,  107,  115 

Neville  (Hugh),  story  of,  in  the  Holy 
Land,  69 

Neville  (Robert),  113 

Neville  (Robert,  Lord  of  Raby),  death 
of,  95 

Neville  slogans,  136-137 

Nevilles  of  Raby,  war  cry  of,  102 

Newcastle,  24,  287,  292,  325,  343 

Newcastle  coals,  35 

New  chapel  flower,  36 

Nicknames,  37,  68,  71,  77,  140,  166, 
182,  203,  223,  304 

Hexham,  344-345 

Nine  churches,  legend  about,  216 

Nixon's  Glow,  178 

Noodle  stories,  see  "  Cuckoo,"  "  Gotha- 
mite,"  "  Gowks  " 


INDEX. 


363 


Noodles,  name  for  yeomanry  at  New- 
castle, 08 

Norfolk  dumplings,  166 

Norfolk  local  proverb,  182 

Norham,  7 

Norhamshire,  foiinerly  in  Durham,  91 

Northallerton,  formerly  in  Durham,  91 

Northants,  Eoman  coins  called  cosfer- 
pence  in,  91 

Northumberland,  sayings  relating  to, 
1-37 

rhymes  and  proverbs  of,  227 

rivers  and   mountains,  309- 

318 

village  rhymes,  318-340 

Northumberland  militia,  27 

Northumberland  (Earl  of),  20 

Nursery  free-booting  song,  336-337 

"game,  237,  240 

rhyme,  291 


Oath  of  the  Deemster,  Isle  of  Man, 

186  187 
Offering  of  stag  at  altar  of  Durham 

Priory,  95 
Old  maids  of  Durham,  50 
Onion  pennies,  Roman  coins  so  called, 

91 
Orton  Boggle,  the,  a  ballad,  225-226 
Oswald,  King  of  Northumberland,  254 
Otterbum,  battle  of,  124 
Otters,  in  the  Tees  and  the  Wear,  87 
Ovingham  Fair,  26 
Ovington,  86 


Painshaw,  77 

Pallinsburn  ducks,  35 

Pancakes,  Shrove  Tuesday,  200 

Pandongate,  Newcastle,  300 

Parliamentarv  election  saying,  215 

Parr  (Thomas),  205 

Parrot,  stoiy  of,  120 

Paston,  9 

Pasture,  common,  243 

Patterdale,  king  of,  145-146 

Pauperism  in  Man,  193 

Peel,  :Man,  203 

Peel  houses,  border  stronghold,  152 

Pelaw,  111 

Pelton,  112,  113 

Penrith,  182 

Pepperv  as  Durham  mustard,  39 

Percy  rhymes,  227-233 

Percy  slogans,  124,  125 


Perth  (James  Dnimmond,  Duke  of), 
60 

Peterill,  river,  158 

Phillipson  family,  210-211 

Philological  errors  causing  historical 
errors,  33.  (Sec  "Folk  Etymolog)'") 

Phynnodderce,  a  Manx  fairy,  201 

Picktree,  1 1 1 

Pidwell  fishery,  7 

Picrsbridge,  Roman  coins  found  at,  91 

Pigeon,  William,  legend  of,  331 

Pilling  moss,  180 

Pinkey's  Cleugh,  prophecy  concern- 
ing, 263 

Pipes,  musical  instrument  of  North- 
umberland, 239 

Pipers,  town,  279 

Pipei-s'  warning,  271 

Pits,  called  Hell-kettles,  79 

Physical  types,  peculiar,  at  Lorbottle, 
2G2 

Place  family,  115 

Plague  of  1348-1357,  29 

burials,  customs  of,  11 

Playing-cards,  knave  of  clnbs  called  a 
Sunderland  fitter,  57 

Pollard  family,  115 

Ponsonby,  182 

Pont,  24,  310,  312 

Potatoes  first  grown  at  Thropton»  342 

Prayer  of  the  Border  Thieves,  348 

Prebends,  golden,  of  Dm-ham,  40 

Presbyterian  Church  legend,  10-11 

Presson,  9 

Priests,  marriage  of,  53,  54 

Prophecy,  183 

attributed  to  Mother  Ship- 
ton,  95 

concerning  Pinkciy's  Cleugh, 

263 

Prophecy  fulfilled,  255 

Prostitutes,  rhymes  indicative  of  their 
location,  93,  104 

Protestant  cause,  success  of,  identified 
with  a  ship,  26 

Proverbs  quoted,  38,  39,  42,  45,  141, 
186,  200,  205,  227 

Prudhoe  castle,  326,  327 

Pndsey  (Hugh),  Bishop  of  Durham, 
46-47 

Puffin,  bird,  194 

Punctuality,  proverb  against  want  of, 
by  Manxmen,  194,  196 

Punishment,  branks  for  scolding 
women,  52,  294  ;  cloak  for  a  drunk- 
ard, 293-294 


364 


INDEX. 


Puns  upon  town  names,  1 0 


Quakerism,  proverb  on,  92 


Raby  Castle,  Sir  Harry  Vane's  pur- 
chase of,  105 

Raid,  a  game  so  called,  ]  51-1 52 

Raids  into  England,  32-33 

Rain  proverb,  217 

Rattenraw,  338 

Raven  dropping  a  piece  of  silver, 
legend  of,  41: 

Red  hand,  robber  taken  in  the  act, 
157 

Red  Robin,  inn  sign,  114 

Redesdale,  247,  325 

man,  37 

Redley  family,  266 
Redley  (Nicholas),  256 
Redpath,  327 

Redshanks,  Manx  name  for  Scotch- 
men, 195 
Reed,  310,  313 
Reformation  rhymes,  53,  54 
Regiments,  local,  27,  34-35,  68 
Reins,  339 

Religion,  identified  with  race,  270 
Rhyme  sung  by  ghost,  24 
Rhymes  addressed  to  fairies,  117,  118 

(place),  10,  12,  13,  14,  16,  22 

of    Northumberland   villages, 

318-340 

Rhyming  grants,  252-254 

will,  170 

Richard  I.,  story  of,  47 

Richard  III.,  mui'der  of  the  princes 
by,  99 

Riches,  prognostication  of,  legend,  44 

Richmond  shilling,  tax  so  called,  24 

Riding,  339 

Riding  the  Black  Lad  of  Ashton- 
under-Lyne,  103 

Ridstow  Tike,  mountain,  161 

Rimside  Moor,  321 

Rivers  of  Northumberland,  309-318 

see  "  Calder,"  "  Cocker,"'  "  Dcr- 

went,"  "Dutton,"  "  Eamont,"  "Eden," 
«  Ellen,"  "  Esk,"  "  Gelt,"  "  Greta," 
"  Irt,"  "  Irving,"  "  Keir,"  •'  Kent," 
"Leven,"  "  Liddal,"  "Lowdore," 
"  Mite,"  "  Peterill,"  "  Tees,"  "  Till," 
"  Tweed,"  "  Tyne,"  "  Wampool," 
"  Waver  " 


Roads,  condition  of,  66 

Robber  anecdote,  264-265,  271 

Robbers  (highway),  60,  78 

Robbery  from  fairies,  184,  185 

Robert,  name  of,  prevalent  at  Whorl- 
ton,  70 

Robin  of  Redesdale,  135,  244 

Robin  the  Devil,  210-211 

Roddam,  16,  252 

Rokeby  slogan,  132-134 

Roman  coins,  popular  names  for,  91 

earthwork,  178 

Wall,  Tradition  of,  348 

Rookby  farmstead,  218 

Roseberry  Topping,  88 

Rosegill,  220 

Rothbury,  316,  330 

Rothley,  fairies  of,  270 

Rowley  Burdon,  name  in  a  popular 
toast,  68 

Rnberslaw,  317 

Rukleton,  111 

Ruth  family,  115 


Sackworth,  field  name,  219 

Sacrilege,  hatred  of  by  Manx,  197 

Sadberge,  manor  of,  47,  76 

Saffron  Walden,  93 

St.  Bees,  182 

St.  George,  battle  cry  of,  123 

Salvin  family,  115 

Sanctuary,  stone  to  indicate  boun- 
daries of,  25 

Sandhiller,  a  female  blackguard,  297 

Saracen's  heads,  Roman  coins  so 
called,  91 

Saufey  money,  protection  money 
against  marauders,  102 

Sayings,  popular,  relating  to  North- 
umberland, North  Durham,  and 
Berwick,  1-37 

Scawfell,  mountain,  159 

School  boys'  name  for  cowards,  Dur- 
ham, 41 

Scot,  a  term  of  scorn,  248 

Scotch  and  English,  a  game  so  called, 
151-152 

Scotchman,  proverbs  on,  302,  303 

Scots,  border  sayings  against  the,  29 

Scott,  Michael,  builder  of  Roman 
Wall,  348 

Scottish  invasion  of  Man,  194 

forests,   indicated  in    place 

rhymes,  91 

Scremerston  crows,  35 


INDEX. 


365 


Scremerston,  lime,  35 

Scriptural  place  names  in  Isle  of  Man, 

192 
Scrnffell,  mountain,  160 
Sealing,  impressing  the  wax  with  the 

tooth,  253 
Sea  spirit,  Manx,  203-204 
Seaton,  111 
Seaton  Delaval,  333 
Sedgefield,  85-86,  94 
Senhouse,  family  of,  167,  168-169 
Setons,  execution  of,  5 
Shadforth  family,  65,  115 
Shaftoe  (Robert),  alluded  to  in  song, 

74 
Shaftoe  slogans,  129,  276 
Shags,  people  of  Winlaton  so  called, 

68 
Shaving,  customs    of,  at    Newcastle, 

296 
Shaw,  339 

Sheriff muir,  battle  of,  81 
Shiel,  or  shiels,  place  names  ending  in, 

58 
Shields,  57,  327 

cailors  from,  70 

go  to,  a  maledictory  expression, 

46,  86 
Shiney-row,  a  Durham  village,  45 
Shipton  (Mother),  prophecy  attributed 

to,  95 
ShirreyMoor,  81 
Shotley,  91 
Shrewsbury,  battle  of,  3-4,  125 

wife,  saying  about,  174 

Shrove  Tuesday  custom,  200-201 
Siward,  Earl  of  Northumberland,  30 
Skaddou  boys,  bye-name  for  Peel  folk, 

Manx,  203 
Skiddaw,  mountain,  158,  160-161 
Sleuth  hounds,  154-155 
Slogans  and  gathering  cries,  121  IJO, 

276 
"  Snaffle  spur  and    spear,"   northern 

counties'  slogan,  131 
Sockbum,  serpent  legend  at,  84 
Song,  "  Go  to  Berwick,  Johnny,"  290 

"  Bobby  Shaftoe,"  74 

gathering  ode  of  the  Fenwicks, 

241-242 
on   the   Tyne,  310 ;    Nursery 

freebooting,  336-337 
Songs,   Northumberland,    relating    to 

places,  34 
Sower  pow,  217 
Sowies,  diminutive  of  sows,  67 
Spittal,  288,  341,351 


Spittal,  sands,  7 

Sporting  proverb,  69 

Spring,  Bothil,  ran  with  blood  when 

Charles  I.  was  beheaded,  163 
Staff,   white,  of    government,  Manx, 

196 
Stag,   offering  of,  at  altar  of  Durham 

Priory,  95 
Stainton,  111 
Stanhope,  104,  107,  103 
Stanley  slogan,  139-140 
Stenkreth  Mill,  217,  221 
Stobhill,  334 

Stockinger,  a  thick-set  fellow,  223 
Stockton,  mayor  of,  67 
Stockton-on-Tees,  107 
Stone,  inscribed,  161 

standing,  at  Yevering,  245 

treaty  signed  at,  92 

keeldar,  269 

monuments  preserved  by  spirits, 

8,9 

pillar,  traditional  orgin  of,  112 

Stowgill  fannstead,  224 

Straw,  tenure  by  the,  Manx,  195 

Street  rhymes,  13 

Subterran(!an    giant,    Manx    legend, 

197-198 
Snnderiand,  57,  67,  71,  306 
Sunnyside,  a  Durham  village,  45 
Surtees  (Edward),  anecdote  of,  271 
Surtees  family,  115 
Sword-dancers'  song,  77 


Tailboys  family,  115 

Tanfield,  68 

Tarret,  310,  313 

TaiTet  slogans,  129-131 

Tarset,  310,  313 

Tartan,  Northumberland,  34 

Team,  310 

Tees,  310,  313 

Tees,  rhyme  on,  in  connection   with 

the  Thames  and  Tyne,  87 
Teesdale,  247 

people,  fends  of,  74-75 

Tempest  family,  54 
Tenure  by  nag  and  foot,  152 
Thames,  in  a  Tees  rhyme.  87 
Thiriwall  Castle,  132 
Thirlwall  slogans,  132,  276 
Threap  lands,  151 
Thropton,  342 
Tickhill,  93 
Till,  310,  311 


366 


INDEX. 


Till,  the  river,  names  of  the,  14 

Tillmocth,  8-9 

Tiudale,  247 

Tindall  slogans,  127-123,  276 

Tiparee,  10 

Tippai,  :no 

Toast,  a  popular,  68 

Tofthill,  OG,  83,  109 

Token,  166 

Toothache,  gibbet  charm  for,  73 

Towns  used  in  maledictory  expressions, 

Bath,  Biddick,  Fruchie,  Shields,  46 
Township,  divided  into  three  hundreds 

206 
Towton,  battle  of,  144 
Ti'easui'e,  tradition  as  to  existence  of, 

108 
Trees,  animals'  horns  fixed  on,  215 
Trindon,  94 
Trollop,  Robert,  62 
Troutbeck,  206 
Trust,  proverb  on,  65 
Tume    tabart,    i.e.    empty     coat    or 

coward,  105 
Tunstall,  65 
Turnip  rhyme,  12 
Tweed,  310,  311,  312,  314,  316 

attributes  of,  1 

Tweed  and  Tvne  salmon,  35 
Tweedale,  247 
Tweedniouth,  288,  351 
Tyne,  310,  312,  313 
Tyne,  in  a  Tees  rhyme,  87 
Tynedale  slogan,  132 
Tynemouth  local  saying,  25 
Tynwald,  Isle  of  Man,  189-190 


Umfraville  famil}',  55,  244,  246 
Uter  Pendragon,  206-207 


Vane,  Sir  Harry,  61 

Village  of  farmers,  13 

Villages,  rhymes  on  Northumberland, 

318-340 
Vinegar  Hill  boys,  bye-name  for  Peel 

folk,  Manx,  203 
Virgin  Mary  worship,  36 


"Walcher,  Bishop  of  Durham,  97 
Walker  Shore,  259 
Wallington,  236-241 
Walwick,  337 
Wampool,  river,  158 
Warcop,  213 


Ware,  alluded  to,  in  Berwick  rhyme  , 

3 
Wark,  343 
Wark  Castle,  9 

Warwick,  Neville  of,  slogan,  134-136 
Washington,  proverb  on,  92 
Water  spirit,  71 
Waver,  river,  158 
Weardale,  90,  96,  107,  247 
Weather  indications,  7 

foretold  from  waterfalls,  221 

rhyme,  85 

Wedderstone,  328 

Week,  the  busy,  32 

Well  custom  at  Alnwick,  259-261 

St.    Culhbert,    robbery    from 

fairies  at,  184 

Gilsland,  164 

Wells  at  Stainton,  111 

West  Sleddale,  217 

Westlington,  182 

Westmoreland  rhymes,  proverbs,  &c., 
205, 217-226 

Wharton,  Thomas,  Lord,  epitaph  on, 
212-217 

Whinetley,  laird  of,  264 

Whitesmocks,  a  Durham  village,  45 

Whittingham,  Dean  of  Durham,  104 

Whittle  gait,  right  of  food,  148 

Whorlton,  70 

Widdrington  and  his  stumps,  30-31 

WildBoar  Pell,  217 

Wilkinson  family,  115 

AVilliam  llufus,  anecdote  of,  305 

Willie  Wastle,  game  of,  235-236 

AVind,  proverb  about  the,  80 

Wiulater,  in  rhyming  proverb,  72 

Winlaton,  68 

Wishing  chair  atFinchale,  109  ;  Jar- 
row,  111 

Witch  rhymes,  82 

Withershins,  against  the  sun,  268-269 

Witton-le-Wear,  110 

Wolf-hunting  legend,  163 

Wolf,  men  of  Weardale  alluded  to,  96, 
107 

AVolsingham,  110 

Wolves,  prevalence  of,  in  Weardale,  107 

Women,  prevalence  of  unmarried,  at 
certain  villages,  94 

of  Middleham,  immorality  of, 

93 

Woodside,  275 

Woolpacks,     Berwick,     bridge     built 

upon, 6 
Workington,  182 
Worthell  Hall,  167-168 


INDEX. 


367 


Wotobank,  163 

Wrecking  on  Northumberland  coast, 

274-275 
Wreighill,  320 
Wren  family,  115 
Wren  hunting,  Manx,  203-204 
WuUy's  black  horse,  Jacobite  legend, 

173 
Wydon,  327 
Wyville  family,  246 


Yarm, 109 

Yellerish,  Cumberland  dialect,  162 


Yeomanry,  called  Noodles,  68 

Yet,  cry  of,  used  in  amusements,  131 

Yevering,  the  standing  stone  at,  245 

York  (Cicel}',  Duchess  of),  72 

York  conflict  with  Durham,  episcopal, 

40,42 
Yorkshire,  in  local  proverb,  77 
Roman  coins  called  Langbar- 

row  pennies  in,  91 
Yorkshireman's  coat  of  arms,  119 
Yorkshire  tykes,  166 


END  OF  VOL.  I. 


SICHOLS  AXD  SONS,  PBINTERS,  25,  PARLIAMENT  STREET,  WESTMINSTER,  S.W. 


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